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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: theauthenticlotteryoffice2006@yahoo.de
Date: Thu, 09 Mar 2006 08:59:57 +0200
Subject: CONGRATULATIONS!YOU WIN LOTTERY CONTACT YOUR CLAIM AGENT TO CLAIM YOUR PRIZE!!!




FROM THE DESK OF THE PROMOTIONS MANAGER,
MR.ROSEPHILA KWENI.
EUROPEAN/UK/S.A.UNION INTERNATIONAL PROMOTIONS
BID SOUTH AFRICA 2010 WORLD CUP LOTTERY
AWARD DEPARTMENT.UNITED KINGDOM/SOUTH AFRICA
(Customer Services}
THE AUTHENTIC LOTTERY OFFICE
NorthRiding Avenue No_78
Email:theauthenticlottery@belizemail.net or
authenticlotteryoffice@belizemail.net
Tel:011 6712 987 442{ext8}
South Africa Johannesburg

Anti-fraud resources: