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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: "Mark Humphreys" <mark.humphreys51@yahoo.co.uk>
Date: Thu, 20 Jan 2011 18:39:18 +0100 (CET)
Subject: YOUR IMMEDIATE RESPONSE WILL BE APPRECIATED

Hi,
I am following up to know if you received my earlier letter of 30th Dec.,2010 regarding a client's estate. Kindly let me know or I will re-send the letter if you did not receive it. I am waiting for your response. Best Regards, Mark Humphreys Head of Finance Gazprombank Financial Services (UK) Limited 5th-6th Floor Washington House 40-41 Conduit Street London W1S 2YQ

Anti-fraud resources: