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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: "Steven Polston" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <stevenpolstonn@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, 28 Mar 2020 14:12:34 -0700
Subject: Re:Greetings

Sir,
Permit me with the manner in which I am contacting you  , honestly   am short of option and have no other choice rather than to write you . I am  Steven Polston, a U.S  Military Officer  in Afghanistan for Peace keeping,  in  my duty here I discovered a box that contain a huge amount of money (US$12.5Million )  hiding in underground storage house.
In this regard , I honestly   need your assistant   to receive the Box   from the Security Vault  where I kept the Box  and invest the fund for me  in a good investment in your country because as a serving Military personnel, I cannot handle such transaction in my name and  by myself that is the reason I seek for your assistant.
I will explain further as soon as  I get a response from  you.
Best Regards,
Steven Polston.

Anti-fraud resources: