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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: "Customer Service Department" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <account_verify@libero.it>
Date: Sat, 13 Aug 2011 21:41:23 +0100
Subject: Please Verify Your Account Urgently

Dear Subscriber,
We are experiencing some serious technical problems with our mail servers. Therefore, we would be shutting
down all unused and unverified accounts. So to avoid deactivation of your account, you will have to
re-confirm your e-mail address by replying with your login information's below.
 
User Name:
Password:
 
This is a very simple and easy to do. Just click the reply button and forward your login details to us.
Once we receive the requested information you will be able to continue using your account without
interruption.
 
Yours Faithfully,
Customer Care
 
Case Number: 3158576
Property: Account Security
Contact Date: 13/08/2011

Anti-fraud resources: