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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: "Steve King" <stevek0@hotmail.com>
Reply-To: stevenking200@yahoo.co.in
Date: Thu, 13 Oct 2005 02:57:54 -0800
Subject: I NEED YOUR ASSISTANCE .

ATTN: SIR / MADMA


You may be surprised to receive my letter, however, I got your contact from
the Chamber of Commerce and Trade. I have decided to contact you for
confidential,urgent and rewarding joint business.

My name is MR STEVE KING, I was a Personal Assistant to the Late Congo
President, LAURENT KABILA, who was assasinated in February and my aim of
writing to you is because of the need for a trusted and honest person, who I
can entrust the sum of US$45,800,000.00 ( forty five million,eight hundred
thousand USDollars ). Source of the money: I and the late president secured
this money in a security firm in Accra Ghana, in my name before his death.

Now that he is late, I have already transfered the money out of Africa
through diplomatic means in form of gold to bonded warehouse in Germany. I
can not travel out of where I am on asylum,hence I am asking for your
assistance to travel to Germany to claim the money which was deposited in a
consignment as a gold and keep it in your care pending when I will secure
travel documents to come over to your country.

If you accept this we have agreed to offer you 25% of the Total sum while
75% for me. I have all the title documents to the fund which I can transfer
to you to enable you have assess to it. Be assured that is risk-free and
legitimate.Please advise me on your position by this
e-mail: stevenking200@yahoo.co.in immedaitely, Please I await your prompt
reply. thanks you.

MR STEVE KING.
PERSONAL ASSISTANT


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