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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: Rita amadu <ritaamadu12@yahoo.com>
Date: Tue, 17 May 2011 15:32:50 +0100 (BST)
Subject: HI DEAR


Dear Friend,
good to see you and happy to meet you
If this will be the beginning of a beautiful friendship for both of us it will be nice because A 'hi' today can mean a friendship tomorrow. Friendship is a word, the very sight of which in print makes the heart warm. A stranger is just a friend you haven't met yet; we got to take time to be friendly because it's the road to happiness; I want us to be friends, I'm Rita Amadu female, single 23 of age.I will give you more details about myself and the kind of a friend I desires to have but if you are not a serious person don't bother to reply me back; I'm looking forward for a better and lasting relationship.
my private mail is ( ritaamadu16@yahoo.com )
Rita

Anti-fraud resources: