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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: "Dr Ignatius Imala (Central Bank of Nigeria)" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <drimala1947@yahoo.com.hk>
Date: Sat, 13 Feb 2010 07:49:19 -0800
Subject: YOUR INHERITANCE PAYMENT via CBN-VISA DEBIT CARD

FROM: DR. IGNATIUS IMALA,
DIRECTOR,
CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA
DIRECT PHONE: +234-8024617446

Attn:
YOUR PAYMENT VIA CBN-VISA DEBIT CARD

YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED THAT YOUR INHERITANCE/CONTRACT PAYMENT OF $10.5 MILLION DOLLARS
HAS BEEN APPROVED TO BE MADE TO YOU THROUGH CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA ATM VISA DEBIT CARD.

REPLY WITH FULL NAMES ADDRESS AND PHONE NUMBER FOR IMMEDIATE PROCESSING OF
THE ATM CARD

YOU CAN AS WELL CALL ME FOR MORE DETAILS +234-8024617446

Regards,

God bless you.

DR. IGNATIUS IMALA

Anti-fraud resources: