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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: "David Akati" <mydeskoffi2014@globomail.com>
Reply-To: markthomson822@yahoo.com.ph
Date: Tue, 01 Jul 2014 00:22:44 -0700
Subject: THE MESSAGE IS A DEAL.

Dear Friend,

How are you doing today and your family? Hope this mail meets you in fine health. My name is Mr. David Akati a Ghanaian citizen with all good intention I bring to you this transaction worth Us$17,500,000.00 (Seventeen Million, Five Hundred Thousand Us Dollars) if you think you have the heart to handle it with me I will present you with more details on how we can work it out for our mutual benefit.

Best regards,
Mr. David Akati

Anti-fraud resources: