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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: "Bank of America" (may be fake)
Date: Fri, 25 Dec 2009 16:26:52 -0800
Subject: Dear Bank of America Member.

Bank of America

Dear Bank of America Member,

Due to the high number of fraud attempts and phishing scams, it has been decided to implement EV
SSL Certification on this Internet Banking website.

The use of EV SSL certification works with high security Web browsers to clearly identify whether
the site belongs to the company or is another site imitating that company's site.

It has been introduced to protect our clients against phishing and other online fraudulent activities.
Since most Internet related crimes rely on false identity, Bank of America went through a rigorous validation
process that meets the Extended Validation guidelines.

Please Update your account to the new EV SSL certification by Re-Verify Your Account Details.

 (Failure to verify account details correctly will lead to account suspension)




Thank you.
Account Sentinel Service


 Bank of America, N.A. Member FDIC. Equal Housing LenderEqual Housing Lender
© 2009 Bank of America Corporation. All rights reserved.

 (Do not reply to this email. Bank of America retains the right to send you periodic updates on alerts and services).

Anti-fraud resources: