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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.

Click here to report a problem with this page.

 

 

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

Fraud email example:

From: "INTERNATIONAL BUREAU" <upperrock.gtb@gibtelecom.net>
Reply-To: mailinquiry100@aim.com
Date: Fri, 4 Jul 2008 07:19:46 +0200
Subject: [ALERT]: Information Included!


Attention,

You have emerged as the STAR prize winner of TWO MILLION, FIVE
HUNDRED THOUSAND USD (US$2.5million) in this automated online
ballot.

To claim your prize, confirm your winning amount to the claims
agent with the contact details below:

Name: Ralph Germain
Phone: +31 647 283 937
Contact: mailinquiry100@aim.com
Contact: mailinquiry@ymail.com

You are required to provide the information below for the claims
process:

Names:
Telephone/Fax number:
Nationality:
Country of Residence:
Occupation:
Age:

Validated winning tickets will be processed and payment
procedure will be announced to the winner.
Please note that you MUST stake and complete the claim process
with 21 days of receiving this notice. It is important that you
call your claims agent to ensure your winning information has
been received.

We look forward to celebrating with you.

Yours Sincerely,

Sarah Jones
Promotion Coordinator



Anti-fraud resources: