Is that inheritance or fortune transfer email a scam? (419 / advance fee fraud)
Advance fee fraud — named after the section of Nigerian law that criminalises it, though it operates globally — is one of the oldest and most studied scams in existence, yet it continues to cause significant financial losses. US victims reported over $650 million in business email compromise and related fraud losses in a single year.
The structure is consistent: you're contacted with an elaborate story. A sum of millions of dollars — an inheritance, an oil contract payment, a safety deposit box, a refugee's savings — is trapped in a foreign account or legal situation. You have been identified as a trustworthy person to help move the funds. In exchange for a small advance payment (fees, taxes, bribes, legal costs), you'll receive a percentage of the total.
Each advance payment is followed by another complication requiring a further fee. The total rises steadily. The large sum never arrives. Victims who have already paid are sometimes targeted by a recovery scam: a 'government agency' or 'lawyer' contacts them claiming to be able to recover the lost funds — for another fee.
🚩 Red flags to watch for
- ▶An unsolicited email about a large sum of money that requires your assistance — and a small fee — to access.
- ▶The story is elaborate and emotional: a dying widow, a political refugee, a soldier who discovered Saddam Hussein's gold.
- ▶Secrecy is stressed: you must tell no one, including family members.
- ▶Each payment is followed by a new, unexpected obstacle requiring another fee.
- ▶The fee amounts escalate while the promised payout stays the same.
✅ What to do
- 1Delete the email without replying. Any reply — even to say 'no' or 'stop contacting me' — confirms your address is active and may increase contact.
- 2Never send money to someone you've never met who promises a larger sum in return. This is the defining structure of advance fee fraud.
- 3Report to the FTC (reportfraud.ftc.gov) in the US, Action Fraud in the UK, or your national fraud authority.
- 4If you've already sent money, stop all further payments immediately. Additional payments will not recover previous losses — they will only add to them.
📣 Where to report (by country)
🇺🇸 United States
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- Action Fraud
- Police Scotland — call 101
🇦🇺 Australia
🇨🇦 Canada
🌍 Everywhere else
- Contact your local police and your bank immediately
- If money was sent, ask your bank about a recall request — act within hours
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Common questions
Why do these emails sometimes contain obvious errors and poor writing?
Research suggests this is partially deliberate. Scammers operating at scale want to filter out skeptical targets early — someone who gets past the poor writing and ridiculous premise is more likely to follow through. The errors function as a crude selection mechanism.
Could any version of this ever be legitimate?
No version of this — a stranger asking you to help move money in exchange for a share, requiring advance payments from you — is ever legitimate. If you inherited a genuine overseas estate or won a genuine lottery, the relevant legal system notifies you through official channels with no upfront payments required.