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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: "MR. MICHEAL SMITH" <mich_a_smt@yahoo.com> (may be fake)
Reply-To: micheal_a_smt@yahoo.co.uk
Date: Thu, 19 Jan 2006 12:35:01 +0000
Subject: URGENT REPLY



Hello Sir,
I am a staff of Natwest Bank London. I am writing following an oppurtunity in my office that will be of imense benefit to both of us.
In my department we discovered an abandoned sum of £3.5million British Pounds Sterling (Three million five hundred thousand British Pounds) in an account that belongs to one of our foreign customers Late Mr. Morris Thompson an American who unfortunately lost hislife in the plane crash of Alaska Airlines Flight 261 which crashed on January 31 2000, including his wife and only daughter.
Now the bank has been waiting for any of the relatives to come-up for the claim but nobody has done that.I personally has been unsuccessful in locating the relatives for 2 years now, I seek your consent to present you as the next of kin / Will Beneficiary to the deceased so that the proceeds of this account valued at £3.5Million British Pounds Stering can be paid to you. This will be disbursed or shared in these percentages, 50% to me and 50% to you. I will secure all necessary legal documents that can be used to back up any claim we may make. All I require is your honest Co-operation, Confidentiality and Trust to enable us see this transaction through.
I guarantee you that this will be executed under a legitimate arrangement that will protect you from any breach of the law.
Please, provide me the following:
1. Full Name
2. Your Telephone Number
3. Your Contact Address.
Your urgent response will be highly anticipated and appreciated.
Best regards,
Mr Micheal A.Smith


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