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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: "michael larson" <michael_larson06@msn.com>
Reply-To: mrlarson06@mail.vu
Date: Sat, 04 Feb 2006 18:42:38 +0000
Subject: GREETINGS. FROM: MR. MICHAEL IN UK.

GREETINGS,

MY NAME IS MICHAEL LARSON, A CITIZEN OF SWEDEN AND THE MANAGING DIRECTOR OF TRIDENT OIL, A MULTI-NATIONAL CORPORATION OPERATING IN LONDON, ENGLAND. I AM SEEKING YOUR ASSISTANCE TO TRANSFER THE SUM OF EIGHT MILLION FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS ($8.5M) INTO AN OVERSEA ACCOUNT.

THIS MONEY WAS ACQUIRED FROM THE COMPANY AND I WANT TO TRANSFER IT OUT OF THE COUNTRY FOR MY PRIVATE INVESTMENT, MY REASON FOR THIS IS BECAUSE I HAVE BEEN CHEATED OUT OF MY ENTITLEMENTS BY THE COMPANY FOR FAR TOO LONG, SIMPLY BECAUSE I AM NOT A BRITISH.

I WILL BE LEAVING THE COUNTRY IMMEDIATELY THE MONEY HAS BEEN TRANSFERRED OUT OF THE COUNTRY AND I HAVE VOWED NEVER TO STEP BACK INTO ENGLAND. PLEASE, I NEED YOUR URGENT RESPONSE BEFORE MY PLANS TO LEAVE THE COMPANY IS DISCOVERED. RIGHT NOW THE SAFEST FORM OF CORRESPONDENCE IS THROUGH MY OWN E-MAIL ADDRESS, PLEASE IN THE INTEREST OF CONFIDENTIALITY ONLY REPLY THROUGH MY DIRECT EMAIL ADDRESS.

REPLY ALONG WITH YOUR PERSONAL TELEPHONE AND FAX NUMBER WHERE I CAN REACH YOU. CALL ME ON TEL: +44 7031845822 FOR ANY ENQUIRY.

PLEASE IF YOU ARE NOT INTERESTED KINDLY DISCHARGE THIS MAIL FROM YOUR SYSTEM/COMPUTER AND PRETEND YOU NEVER GOT MY MAIL.

BEST REGARDS,
 
MICHAEL LARSON.

TRIDENT OIL CORPORATION.
LONDON, ENGLAND
TEL: +44 703 184 5822
PRIVATE EMAIL:
mrlarson06@mail.vu

Anti-fraud resources: