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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: "Dr Paul Mirza" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <drpaulmirza@yahoo.com>
Date: Sun, 13 Jul 2014 18:59:55 -0400
Subject: BUSINESS PARTNERSHIP

Hello, dear!
 
My name is Dr. Paul Mirza , Operations / Regional Manager with a Bank   in United Kingdom. During the annual audit of our bank, I discovered abandoned / unclaimed funds, the sum total of which is  (30 million British pounds) in an account belonging to one of our foreign customer’s .I found that he had no particular family or designated beneficiary on the account, after going through his writings in our bank. I am sincerely and consciously seeking to present you as the trustee to the deceased so that the sum of 30 million pounds sterling will be converted to your custody and we shall share in a percentage ratio of 50% for me and 40% for you  After examination and acceptance of this offer, please forward this information to me immediately on my private e-mail address for more discussion: drpaulmirza@yahoo.com
-Your full name:
-Your full contact address:
-Your mobile phone direct number:
Sincerely,
Dr.Paul  Mirza
 
 

Anti-fraud resources: