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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: Margaret Sutton <suttonmargaret100@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 11 May 2014 16:33:47 +0000
Subject: My Sincere Call On You

Good day,

Hello, with all due respect I like to introduce myself. My name is
Mrs.Margaret Sutton . I am married to Dr.Eamon Sutton, who worked
with an oil company (Shell ) in Angola for nine years (9 Years)
before he died in the year 2003. We were married for eleven years
without a child. He died after a brief illness that lasted for only
four days. Before his death we were both born again Christians. Since
his death I (Mrs.Margaret Sutton) decided not to re-marry or get a
child outside my matrimonial home.

When my late husband was alive he deposited the sum of $5 Million
(Five Million U.S. Dollars) with a security company. Presently, his
money is still under the safe keeping of the security company.
Recently, my Doctor told me that I, Mrs.Margaret Sutton , would not
last for the next three months due to my cancer problems. Though what
disturbs me most is my stroke. Having known my condition, I decided to
donate this fund to an organization or a reliable fair, humanitarian
individual to use this funds for charity works on my behalf as my
TRUSTEE.

Please assure me that you will act accordingly as I stated in my
letter to you. Once I, Mrs.Margaret Sutton , hear from you .
Hoping to hear from you as soon as possible.
Take good care of yourself and family.
I shall forward you further details and documents once I get a
response from you.

My Very Best Regards,

Mrs.Margaret Sutton

Anti-fraud resources: