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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.

 

 

Fraud email example:

From: brian_smith@zipmail.com.br
Date: Fri, 25 Mar 2005 04:56:22 -0800
Subject: =?iso-8859-1?Q?LOTTERY=20AWARD=20WINNER?=

ATTENTION: Dear Sir/Madam,

I am Mr.BRIAN SMITH the fiduciary agent assigned
to your case. I wish to Congratulate you on your victory, you are a lucky
person to have won this lottery. Your email address was amongst those chosen
this quarter from our new java-based software that randomly selects email
addresses from the web from which winners are selected.
You are required to forward the following details to
help facilitate the processing of your claims and
certificate which will facilitate the release of your winnings.
Your winning price is to the une of Two Million Euros.
1. Full names.
2. Phone number.
3. Fax number.
4. Occupation.
5. Sex.
6. Age.
7. Nationality.
You are advised to forward this information as soon as
possible to enable us attend to your winnings. Our firm has been
contracted to handle payments on your behalf, once we confirm your information,
your payments would be processed. Everything was done in such a way that
our payments mode would meet the
standards set by the Lottery boards.After you have sent down these information,
a certificate will be prepared for you.
This is to be your proof of winning from this office to the payment center
before they release your funds.
Be advised that your winnings would be paid to you in Four(4)
installments of 500,000.00 Euros {Five HundredThousandEuros}.
This is done because of the amount won by you. This money
would be paid to you on instalmental basis via the Correspondent Bank of
the Lottery promoters.

You are advised to keep your winning numbers secret to avoid
unscrupulous elements from taking advantage of the situation. Once again,
congratulations.
Sincerely,

MR.BRIAN SMITH

BRIAN SMITH & Associates
Aliied London Prop manag
40 Portman square
London
W1H 6LT
United Kingdom
Phone: +44 703 194 2696
Email:brsmith@uku.co.uk

PRACTICE AREAS:-
Banking / Finance
Intellectual Property
Charities
Litigation/Dispute Resolution
Competition
Private Client
Corporate/Public Employment
Real Estate / Property
Environment
Shipping
Family
Tax


This email and its attachments are con fidential and intended for the exclusive
use of the dressee(s).This email and its attachments may also be privileged
or protected by legal rules. If you have received this by mistake please
let us know by reply immediately and destroy the email and its attachments
without reading, copying or forwarding the contents.
LOTTERY AWARD WINNER



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