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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: "Douglas Randall" <doug_ran2005@msn.com>
Reply-To: dg_uk_lottoonline@yahoo.com
Date: Fri, 16 Dec 2005 10:50:18 +0000
Subject: Once Again Congratulations!!

 ATTENTION: Dear Sir/Madam,

 

I am Mr.Douglas Randall 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 tune 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 Hundred Thousand Euros}. 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. DOUGLAS RANDALL
Douglas Randall & Associates
50 Broadway
Westminster
London
SW1H OBL
United Kingdom

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