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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: United Kingdom lottery <uklotto_winningnote@yahoo.co.uk>
Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2006 14:30:13 +0100 (BST)
Subject: LOTTO PRIZE WINNER RECONFIRMATION....




WE AWAITED YOUR REPLY CONCERNING YOUR CLAIMS BUT SINCE YOU HAVE FAILED TO REPLY US,WE HAVE DEICDED TO PUT YOUR CLAIMS ON HOLD AND WILL HEREBY SANCTION YOUR CLAIMS TO BE ADDED TO THE FORTH COMING LOTTERY DRAW AND HAVE ANOTHER BENEFICIARY TO CLAIM IT HAS A PRIZED DRAW.
THIS IS AN ORGANIZATION THAT OPERATES UNDER THE RECOMENDATION OF THE LAW AND WE CANNOT WAIT FOR ANY LATE REPLY AS THIS CLAIMS MUST BE UPDATED IN OUR NEXT BALLOT LOTTERY DRAW COMING UP LATE THIS WEEK AND SO WE CAN ONLY GIVE YOU 3 MORE DAYS TO REPLY OUR MAIL AND REQUEST TO CLAIM YOUR PRIZE OR IT WILL BE CANCELLED ACCORDING TO THE REGULATIONAS OF THE DRAW ORGANIZATIN AND REPRESENTATIVES.
THANKS
LOTTO PRIZE WINNER RECONFIRMATION....


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