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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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Fraud email example:

From: "mary anderson" <maryanderson1@prolottery.org>
Date: Tue, 17 May 2005 23:04:57 -0500
Subject: CONGRATULATION!!!

Ref. Number:132/756/4509
Batch Number:538901527-Bc68
Ticket Number:27522465896-6453
Dear Sir/Madam,

We are pleased to inform you of the result of the Winners in our
UNIVERSAL STAKES Lottery Program held on the 15th MAY, 2005.Your e-mail address attached to ticket number 27522465896-6453 with serial number 3772-554 drew lucky numbers 7-14-18-31-45 which consequently won in the 2ND category, you have therefore been approved for a lump sum pay out of 4,000,000 EUROS (four Million (EUROS).
CONGRATULATIONS!

Due to mix up of some numbers and names, we ask that you keep your
winning information confidential until your claims have been fully processed and your money Remitted to you. This is part of our security protocol to avoid multiple claims and unwarranted abuse of this program by some participants.
All participants were selected through acomputer ballot system drawn from over 20,000 company and 30,000,000 individual email addresses and names from all over the world. This promotional program takes place every five years. This lottery was promoted and sponsored by a conglomerate of some multinational companies in europe as part of their social responsibility to the citizens in the communities where they have operational base.We hope with part of your winnings you will take part in our next year Ten million Euros UNIVERSAL STAKES lottery.

To file for your claim, please contact our fiducial agent: Mr.ADAM SMITH. Reply Email : adamsmith7@iol.pt

Remember all winning must be claimed not later than one month of notification. After this date all unclaimed funds will be included in the next stake. Please note in order to avoid unnecessary delays and complications, remember to quote your reference number and batch numbers in all correspondence. Furthermore should there be any change of address do inform our agent as soon as possible.
Congratulations once more from our members of staff and thank you for being part of ourpromotional program.
Note: Anybody under the age of 18 is automatically disqualified.
Yours Sincerely,
MRS MARY ANDERSON
UNIVERSAL STAKES LOTTERY (co-ordinator)
N.B: Any breach of confidentiality on the part of the winners will
result to disqualification.Please do not reply to this mail. Contact your claims agent Mr ADAM SMITH.
CONGRATULATION!!!



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