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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: "Austin" (may be fake)
Date: Thu, 7 Jul 2022 20:39:50 +0800
Subject: From Austin Reed

Greetings Friend,

I am contacting you about the deceased Craig's, whom I happened to be his banker and financial advisor, It's been confirmed he died in an Auto crash and he has no beneficiary on file to receive his (22.8 million Euro ) from investment. I am ready for the deal, if you can receive the money. All you need to do is to get back to me showing interest and I will explain how the process goes.

Sincerely,
Austin Reed.

Anti-fraud resources: