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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: "anthonio rodrigo" <anthonio_rodrigo@skim.com>
Date: Sun, 16 Jul 2006 23:17:58 +0800
Subject: Re: private email address

Dear VICTIMNAME VICTIMNAME,

Thanks for responding to my email, i must thank you so much. My choice of contacting you is due to the honesty life that your father lived, which i am sure he has passed on to you. At this point i realy need somebody that has the fear of God, cos that is the only person i can trust with such an amount. How i got your email, is as a result of my quest to contact a honest person, that is why i made every effort to get your contact. As at it stands now i want to know if you are ready to assist us. Please let me know so that i can brief you on our next move.
Best regards,
Anthonio Rodrigo


Anti-fraud resources: