Advance-Fee Fraud (419 / Nigerian-Prince Scam)

Advance-Fee Fraud (419 / Nigerian-Prince Scam): A scammer promises you a large windfall (inheritance, government grant, lottery) but requires you to pay "fees", "taxes" or "compliance charges" up-front via SWIFT before they can release the funds. The promised payment never materialises.

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How the scam works: A scammer promises you a large windfall (inheritance, government grant, lottery) but requires you to pay "fees", "taxes" or "compliance charges" up-front via SWIFT before they can release the funds. The promised payment never materialises.

Many of these scams rely on victims trusting a forged MT103 / pacs.008 PDF without verifying. Ohmyfin lets anyone — for free, with no bank login — look up any UETR in seconds. If a "proof of payment" UETR cannot be found by Ohmyfin, the document is almost certainly fraudulent.

If you believe you have been targeted by this scam, report immediately to: (a) your bank's fraud line, (b) the receiving bank's fraud line, (c) your local police / financial regulator (FBI IC3 in the US, Action Fraud in the UK, AFP in Australia, Europol in Europe).

Key facts

Red flags:
⚠ Unsolicited contact promising large amounts of money
⚠ Story involves urgency, secrecy and "official" bodies (governments, banks, courts)
⚠ You must pay fees up-front via wire before you can receive money
⚠ Claimed "MT103 proof of funds" PDFs whose UETR cannot be independently looked up
How to protect yourself:
✓ Verify any claimed "incoming MT103" by UETR on Ohmyfin BEFORE paying any fee
✓ No legitimate windfall ever requires you to pay up-front to receive it
✓ If something looks too good to be true, it is

Frequently asked questions

What is Advance-Fee Fraud (419 / Nigerian-Prince Scam)?

A scammer promises you a large windfall (inheritance, government grant, lottery) but requires you to pay "fees", "taxes" or "compliance charges" up-front via SWIFT before they can release the funds. The promised payment never materialises.

How can Ohmyfin help me avoid this scam?

Most SWIFT-payment scams rely on victims accepting a forged MT103 or pacs.008 PDF without verifying. Paste the UETR from any "proof of payment" into the Ohmyfin homepage tracker — if the UETR cannot be located in the SWIFT network, the document is almost certainly fake.

Where do I report this scam?

Contact your bank's fraud line immediately, then your local financial regulator and police. For cross-border fraud, file with the FBI IC3 (US), Action Fraud (UK), the AFP (Australia), or Europol (EU).

Can I recover the money if I have already sent it?

Sometimes. Contact your bank within hours and request a SWIFT recall. Success rates are highest when reported within 24h. After several days the funds are usually unrecoverable.

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SWIFT, SWIFTNet, SWIFT GPI, SWIFT Go, UETR, BIC, MT, MX, FIN, pacs.008, pacs.009, camt, ISO 20022 and related message-type identifiers, codes and logos are trademarks, service marks or registered marks of Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication SCRL (S.W.I.F.T. SC), with registered office at Avenue Adèle 1, 1310 La Hulpe, Belgium, and/or ISO 20022 Registration Authority. IBAN is published under ISO 13616. Visa, Mastercard, SEPA, Fedwire, FedNow, CHAPS, TARGET2, RTGS and all bank names, brand names, BIC codes and logos referenced on this site are the property of their respective owners and are used purely for descriptive and reference purposes under nominative fair use.

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We are not a bank, money-services business, payment institution, electronic-money issuer or settlement agent. We do not hold, transfer, send, receive, custody or settle funds. We do not initiate, modify, cancel, recall or release SWIFT or ISO 20022 payment messages. Information returned by our tools is provided on an “as-is” basis for informational and convenience purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, regulatory or compliance advice. For binding confirmation, settlement status, value-date confirmation, refunds, recalls, investigations or any official record of a payment, customers must always contact their bank or licensed payment service provider directly.

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Advance-Fee Fraud (419 / Nigerian-Prince Scam)

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