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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

The so-called "419" scam is a type of fraud dominated by criminals from Nigeria and other countries in Africa. Victims of the scam are promised a large amount of money, such as a lottery prize, inheritance, money sitting in some bank account, etc.

Victims never receive this non-existent fortune but are tricked into sending their money to the criminals, who remain anonymous. They hide their real identity and location by using fake names and fake postal addresses as well as communicating via anonymous free email accounts and mobile phones.

Keep in mind that scammers DO NOT use their real names when defrauding people.
The criminals either abuse names of real people or companies or invent names or addresses.
Any real people or companies mentioned below have NO CONNECTION to the scammers!

Read more about such scams here or in our 419 FAQ. Use the Scam-O-Matic to verify suspect emails.

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Some comments by the Scam-O-Matic about the following email:

Fraud email example:

From: Peter Hans <peterhans.3436@gmail.com>
Date: 18 Apr 2019 00:56:40 -0700
Subject: KIND ATTENTION NEEDED

Dearest , This letter may come to you as a surprise due to the fact that we have not yet met. I am contacting you to assist me, I have to say that I have no intentions of causing you any pains as you read this. I don't want you to feel sorry for me, because, I believe everyone will die someday. My name is Peter Hans , a merchant in USA, presently taking medical treatment . Right now, I have been diagnosed with a deadly heart disease that was discovered very late due to my uncaring attitude for my health. It has defiled all form of medicine and right now, I have only about a few months to live according to medical experts. To be frank with you, I have not particularly lived my life so well, as I never really cared for anyone not even myself but my business and money. Though I am very rich, I was not that generous, I was always hostile to people and only focused on my business as that was the only thing I cared for. But now I've come to regret all this as I now know that there is more to life than just wanting to have or make all the money in the world. I believe when God gives me a second chance to come to this world I would live my life a different way from how I have lived it. Now that I know my time is almost up, I have willed and given most of my properties and assets to my immediate and extended family members and as well as a few close friends. I have decided to give alms to charity organizations, as I want this to be one of the last good deeds I do on earth. So far, I have distributed money to some charity organizations in USA, United Arab Emirates and Ireland. Now that my health has deteriorated so badly, I cannot do this my self any more. I once asked members of my family to close one of my accounts and donate the money which I have there to some charity organizations in Syria, they refused and kept the money to themselves. Hence, I do not trust them anymore, as they seem not to be content with what I have left for them. The last of my money is the huge cash deposit (2,169,300.00) that I have with a Finance House in USA. I will want you to help me collect this deposit and dispatch it to charity organizations and let them know that it is I, Peter Hans that made this generous donation. I am writing this from my laptop computer in my hospital bed where I wait for possible treatments & my time to come. As soon as I received your sincere response, I will hence give you all the necessary details of how this can be done. I pray that you are the kind of person i am looking for, so that I can be able to achieve this goal. If you accept to help me carry out my last wishes, I promise you a reward of 30% of the (2,169,300.00) on trust bases. Thank you for understanding, Best Regards, Peter Hans. Chat Conversation End Type a message... You can reply to peterhans.3436@gmail.com

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