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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: "Mr. John Albert" <johneyalbert83@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 16 Nov 2021 01:08:54 -0800
Subject: MY REGARDS TO YOU.

Urgent Attention,

I am John Albert, I'm from West Africa, Ghana, please I want to be sure
that you are the one receiving this letter before I can release an
important information to you, I want you to verify that your email address
is still valid and accessed by you,

As soon as I receive your response I will proceed and release the vital
information to you and your family. I'm taking this precautionary gauge to
avoid getting this significant information into the wrong hands because of
how susceptible it is.

Best Regards,
Mr. John Albert

Anti-fraud resources: