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

Fraud email example:

From: "Fath Mutambara" <f_muta01@yahoo.ca> (may be fake)
Reply-To: f_muta001@yahoo.ca
Date: Tue, 29 Aug 2006 18:14:04 +0000
Subject: Please, help.

Compliment of the day to you and your family.
My name is Faith Mutambara, the only daughter of late chief Montsho Mutambara from Zimbabwe. l was born in Seirra Leone and l grew up there.
My father was a business man and he deal on diamonds and gold, when he sensed of conspiracy against him, he escaped me and my mother to Dakar Senegal. Later he went back to Sierra Leone to sell some of our remaining properties for us to travel that is when he was killed.
When he was alive, he deposited his money (us$8.7 million dollars) with my name as his next of kin in a finance company in Senegal. Presently, l want you to help me to retrive this money out from the security company custody to your country and to help us to invest it in any profitable business and also help us acquire nationalization status in your country.
You will stand as the beneficiary of the money and as our foreign partner\receiver for immediate transfer of the money afterwhich we will be coming to meet you.
All the documents that my late father used in depositing the money is here with me and will be fax to you on demand. l have the authority of my mother involved that should you be willing to assist us in the process of the transfer, your share of the sum will be 30%, the transaction is 100% safe on your part provided you treat it with utmost secrecy. l have reposed my confidence in you and l am looking forward to hear ftrom you.Thanks.
Yours sincerely,
Faith Mutambara.


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