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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: "Sonia Wilson" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <soniawilson@kimo.com>
Date: Thu, 20 Jun 2013 17:04:56 -0500
Subject: Urgent Response Needed.

HELLO MY GOOD FRIEND
 
MY NAME IS SONIA WILSON FROM OHIO,USA PRESENTLY RECEIVING TREATMENT
HERE IN GERMANY. I'M A DYING WOMAN WHO HAS DECIDED TO DONATE HER
INHERITANCE TO CHARITY AS I HAVE REALIZED THAT EVERYTHING IN LIFE IS VANITY.
 
I AM 58 YEARS OLD AND I WAS DIAGNOSED WITH BREAST CANCER ABOUT 7 YEARS
AGO IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE DEATH OF MY LATE HUSBAND WHO LEFT ME EVERYTHING
HE WORKED FOR AS I INHERITED $8.6M DOLLARS. I HAVE BEEN TOUCHED BY GOD TO
DONATE ALL I HAVE INHERITED FROM MY LATE HUSBAND TO CHARITY AS MY DOCTOR HAVE
ADVISED THAT I HAVE LESS THAN 3 MONTHS TO LIVE, I WANT YOU TO ACT AS AN
ADMINISTRATOR OF THIS CHARITY. THE FUNDS IS DEPOSITED WITH A SECURITY COMPANY
IN IL,USA. ON YOUR RESPONSE I WILL GIVE YOU DETAILS ON HOW YOU CAN CLAIM
THIS FUND. PLEASE DELETE THIS MESSAGE IF YOU ARE NOT INTRESTED AND I ALSO
UNDERSTAND THERE IS A LOT OF SCAM OVER THE INTERNET.
 
SONIA WILSON

Anti-fraud resources: