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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: "diana smith" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <dianasmith888@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 24 Aug 2010 22:47:24 +0100
Subject: Please, consider this and get back to me

Hello ,

How are you today? Hope all is well with you and your family? I know that this letter will come to you as a surprise as we don't know ourselves before, but be rest assured that it is real and a genuine business.. I am mrs diana smith from London .I am an account officer to Mr. Rafik Hariri, Born in Lebanon in 1944, The late Rafik Hariri was a Lebanese self-made billionaire and business tycoon, and was five times Prime Minister of Lebanon. You can view this site for confirmation.http://www.rhariri.com/general..asp x?pagecontent=biography
Mr. Rafik Hariri deposit 36,759,000 million British Pounds in a bank here in London and I want to invest this money in your country, The need to move out this money arose when the Prime Minister said that some of the money held in dormant accounts would be used to fund youth and community projects for you can confirm this in the website below.http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/401738 1.stm
I am in a sincere desire of your humble assistance in this regard. Now permit me to ask these few questions:-
(1) Can I completely trust you?
(2) I am ready to offer you 25% of this (£36 759 000.00) I hope it is acceptable by you?
Please, consider this and get back to me as soon as possible for more details, my Tel: 44-7045729139
Thank you so much.
diana smith

Anti-fraud resources: