Is an email from someone claiming to offer me millions from an overseas fortune in exchange for help a scam?
Yes, without exception. This is an advance-fee fraud, one of the oldest scam formats still operating. No fortune exists, and any fees you pay will simply be stolen.
Last reviewed: 10 June 2026
Explanation
Advance-fee fraud — historically known as the Nigerian Prince scam or 419 fraud after the Nigerian criminal code section that covers it — has been in continuous operation for decades and adapts to current events. The scenario changes: an unclaimed inheritance, a stranded diplomat's funds, a wrongly frozen lottery prize, a business investment requiring a partner. The structure never changes: you are promised a large share of a vast sum in exchange for helping to move it, and small upfront fees are required to unlock the transfer.
Fees are requested for lawyers, bank charges, customs clearance, government certificates, or bribes. Each payment is followed by a new obstacle requiring another payment. Some victims pay for months or years before giving up. Emotional manipulation is layered in — the fraudster presents themselves as trusting you with a secret and becomes upset if you express doubt.
No real fortune is waiting. The correspondence is entirely fabricated. If money were genuinely stuck in a foreign bank, the owner could hire a local attorney without involving a random stranger from another country.
These emails are still sent in vast volumes because the conversion rate, however small, is enough to make the operation profitable. If you receive one, delete it.
Common red flags
- Promise of a large sum of money in exchange for a small upfront fee
- Elaborate story explaining why a stranger needs your help specifically
- Each fee payment triggers a new reason another fee is required
- Emotional pressure — appeals to your kindness, trust, or greed
- Requests for secrecy to protect the transaction
- Email address or contact is a free webmail account unrelated to any organisation named
What to do now
- Delete the email and do not respond at all
- Block the sender's address
- Report to your national fraud reporting service
- If you have already paid fees, report to local police and your bank
- Do not send any further money regardless of the story offered
- Warn elderly relatives who may be more susceptible to these approaches
Frequently asked questions
Why do these scams still work if they are so well known?
Even with widespread awareness, the volume of messages sent is so large that a tiny conversion rate generates significant revenue. Many recipients are elderly, isolated, or encountering the scam for the first time.
Is it safe to reply just to see what they say?
No. Replying confirms your address is active and increases the volume of scam mail you will receive. In some cases, replies have led to targeted follow-up scams.