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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: chris marshall <rosal1217@yahoo.com>
Reply-To: marshall_chriss@yahoo.com
Date: Fri, 18 Jun 2010 01:37:42 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Urgently needed by chrismarshall



My name is chris marshall, a US citizen, presently serving in Mosul,Iraq.
I have a very  urgent  need for assistance, I will disclose  and provide adequate proof of  my  identity,and also explain  how I got your contact,but I must have some  assurances that you will not use such delicate information against me. I feel quite safe reaching you through this medium,although it has`been greatly abused, it  still remains one of the fastest and cheapest means of communication, this is also apart from the fact thatI have veryrestricted access to  other means of communication.
 
However, this  correspondence is unofficial and should be treated as such.I have to urgently move  some  money out of here to a safe country as soon as i can have some assistance, and  I have discovered a secure way of doing so, I will explain the  source of money to you when I  am
convinced that you sincerely want to work with me, but I  assure you of your safety as far as this project is concerned.
 
Concealing  this money here has been a big problem/source of distraction to  me,  what I  require from you now is the assurance that you will honor my conditions, mostly as regards  taking care of my share until I complete my service here, and preserving all information relating to this.
 
I am offering  you  Six million dollars ($6,000,000) for your prospective role, but should  you have reasons to reject this  offer, please destroy this mail as any  leakage will be too  bad for us. I will continue with the details when you signify your intention to work with me.
Respectfully,
chris marshall

 

 



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