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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.

Click here to report a problem with this page.

 

 

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

Fraud email example:

From: george micheal <georgemichealgm1970@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, 11 Mar 2023 20:34:17 +0100
Subject: help to claim

I MR GEORGE MICHEAL OF CONTRACT AWARD COMMITTEE OF US DEPARTMENT OF
ENERGY HERE IN THE UNITED STATES. AFTER DUE DELIBERATION WITH MY
PARTNER, WE DECIDED TO FORWARD TO YOU THIS BUSINESS PROPOSAL, WE WANT
YOU TO ASSIST US RECEIVE THE SUM OF 15.5 MILLION DOLLARS INTO YOUR
ACCOUNT. THIS FUND RESULTED FROM AN OVER INVOICED CONTRACT AWARDED BY
THE GOVERNMENT TO A CHINA COMPANY UNDER THE BUDGET ALLOCATION TO MY
MINISTRY AND THE BILL WAS APPROVED FOR PAYMENT BY THE CONCERNED
MINISTRIES. THE CONTRACT WAS EXECUTED COMMISSIONED AND THE CONTRACT
WAS PAID HIS ACTUAL COST OF THE CONTRACT, NOW WE ARE LEFT WITH THE
BALANCE OF 15.5 MILLION DOLLARS AS THE OVER INVOICED AMOUNT, WHICH WE
HAVE DELIBERATELY OVER ESTIMATED FOR OUR OWN USE. PLEASE NOT THAT THE
LAW FORBIDS CIVIL SERVANT TO OPERATE FOREIGN ACCOUNT. WE HAVE AGREED
TO SHARE THE MONEY IN THE FOLLOWING PERCENTAGE 30 PERCENT FOR YOU 60
PERCENT FOR US AND 10 PERCENT FOR TAX AND UN FOR SEEN EXPENSES MAY
ARISE. THIS TRANSACTION IS RISK FREE, THIS PAYMENT HAVE BEEN OKAYED BY
OUR OFFICE US DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY, ONCE YOUR YOUR REPLY AND INTEREST
IS RECEIVED, YOUR INFORMATION WILL BE SUBMITTED TO THE APPROPRIATE
OFFICE FOR THE PAYMENT.
WAITING FOR YOUR REPLY
GEORGE MICHEAL

Anti-fraud resources: