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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: "Homeland Security Department" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <claire.grady@usa.com>
Date: Thu, 9 Aug 2018 14:51:53 -0700
Subject: HELLO

Homeland Security Department ,
Southwest, Washington, D.C.,
Washington, D.C., United States

Good day, This is the Department of Homeland S e c u r i t y we have vital
mission: to secure the nation from the many threats we face as well as
internet F r a u d. This requires the dedication of more than
230,000 employees in jobs that range from aviation and border s e c u r i t
y to emergency response, from cyber security analyst to chemical facility
inspector. Our duties are wide-ranging, but our goal is clear - keeping
America safe.

We are happy to inform you that your f u n d s valued at
US$10,700,000.00 (Ten million Seven Hundred Thousand United States
Dollars) have been approved by the Treasury Department of the United
States. Kindly get back to us for further directives. Reconfirm to us this
information below,

FULL NAME,ADDRESS,CELL PHONE #,OCCUPATION

Note: Do not reply to any e-mail that comes from the FBI Former Director James
Comey Jr, also the new FBI DIRECTOR Andrew G. McCabe. FBI director does not
e-mail people. Do not fall a victim of s c a m again, a word is enough for the wise.

Reply back as soon as you get this email for further directives.

Thank you and have a good day.

Signed:

Mrs. Claire Grady
Acting Director,
United States Secret Service

Anti-fraud resources: