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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: mac bruce <mac2bruce@yahoo.com>
Date: Fri, 15 Dec 2006 08:44:13 -0800 (PST)
Subject: ASSITANCE


ASSISTANCE;ASSISTANCE
HOW ARE YOU AND YOUR FAMILY?. HOPE ALL IS WELL.
MY NAME IS ( SGT 1ST CLASS ) MAC BRUCE, I AM AN AMERICAN SOLDIER,
SERVING IN THE MILITARY WITH THE ARMY’S 3RD INFANTRY DIVISION. WITH A
VERY DESPERATE NEED FOR
ASSISTANCE, I HAVE SUMMED UP COURAGE TO CONTACT YOU. I FOUND YOUR
CONTACT PARTICULARS IN AN
ADDRESS JOURNAL. I AM SEEKING YOUR KIND ASSISTANCE TO MOVE THE SUM OF (
$8 MILLION U.S. DOLLARS )
EIGHT MILLION UNITED STATES DOLLARS TO YOU IN UNITED STATES, AS FAR AS
I CAN BE ASSURED THAT MY
SHARE WILL BE SAFE IN YOUR CARE UNTIL I COMPLETE MY SERVICE HERE, THIS
IS NO STOLEN MONEY, AND
THERE ARE NO DANGER INVOLVED.
SOURCE OF MONEY:
SOME MONEY IN VARIOUS CURRENCIES WAS DISCOVERED IN BARRELS AT A
FARMHOUSE NEAR ONE OF SADDAM’S
OLD PALACES IN TIKRIT-IRAQ DURING A RESCUE OPERATION, AND IT WAS AGREED
BY STAFF SGT KENNETH BUFF
AND I THAT SOME PART OF THIS MONEY BE SHARED AMONG BOTH OF US BEFORE
INFORMING ANYBODY ABOUT
IT SINCE BOTH OF US SAW THE MONEY FIRST. THIS WAS QUITE AN ILLEGAL
THING TO DO, BUT I TELL YOU
WHAT ? NO COMPENSATION CAN MAKE UP FOR THE RISK WE HAVE TAKEN WITH OUR
LIVES IN THIS HELL HOLE.
OF WHICH MY BROTHER IN-LAW WAS KILLED BY A ROAD SIDE BOMB LAST WEEK.
YOU WILL FIND THE STORY OF
THIS MONEY ON THE WEB ADDRESS BELOW;
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A35080-2003Apr24?
THE ABOVE FIGURE WAS GIVEN TO ME AS MY SHARE, AND TO CONCEAL THIS KIND
OF MONEY BECAME A PROBLEM
FOR ME, SO WITH THE HELP OF A BRITHISH CONTACT WORKING HERE, AND HIS
OFFICE ENJOY SOME IMMUNITY,
I WAS ABLE TO GET THE PACKAGE OUT TO A SAFE LOCATION ENTIRELY OUT OF
TROUBLE SPOT. HE DOES
NOT KNOW THE REAL CONTENTS OF THE PACKAGE, AND BELIEVES THAT IT BELONGS
TO A BRITHISH/AMERICAN
MEDICAL DOCTOR WHO DIED IN A RAID HERE IN IRAQ, AND BEFORE GIVING UP,
TRUSTED ME TO HAND OVER THE
PACKAGE TO HIS FAMILY IN UNITED STATES. I HAVE NOW FOUND A VERY SECURED
WAY OF GETTING THE
PACKAGE OUT OF IRAQ TO Your Country FOR YOU TO PICK UP, HOWEVER, A
SOLID STRATEGY HAVE BEEN MAPED
OUT ON HOW TO LIFT THE CASH VIA A DIPLOMATIC CARGO FREIGHT COMPANY WITH
THEIR HEADQUATERS IN
AMSTERDAM -NETHERLAND AND BRANCHES AT KUWAIT AND JORDAN, NOTE THAT I
WILL DISCUSS THE SHIPMENT
ARRANGEMENT AND CONSEQUENTELY FORWARD THE ROUTING SLIP TO YOU WHEN I AM
SURE THAT YOU ARE WILLING
TO HELP ME.

I WANT YOU TO TELL ME HOW MUCH YOU WILL TAKE FROM THIS MONEY FOR THE
ASSISTANCE YOU WILL GIVE TO
ME. ONE PASSIONATE APPEAL I WILL MAKE TO YOU IS NOT TO DISCUSS THIS
MATTER WITH ANYBODY, SHOULD
YOU HAVE REASONS TO REJECT THIS OFFER, PLEASE PLEASE AND PLEASE DESTROY
THIS MESSAGE AS ANY
LEAKAGE OF THIS INFORMATION WILL BE TOO BAD FOR US SOLDIER’S HERE IN
IRAQ. I DO NOT KNOW HOW LONG
WE WILL REMAIN HERE, AND I HAVE BEEN SHOT, WOUNDED AND SURVIVED TWO
SUICIDE BOMB ATTACKS BY THE
SPECIAL GRACE OF GOD, THIS AND OTHER REASONS I WILL MENTION LATER HAS
PROMPTED ME TO REACH OUT
FOR HELP, I HONESTLY WANT THIS MATTER TO BE RESOLVED IMMEDIATELY,
PLEASE CONTACT ME AS SOON AS POSSIBLE WITH MY E-MAIL ADDRESS WHICH IS
MY ONLY WAY OF
COMMUNICATION. mca2bruce@yahoo.com
GOD BLESS YOU AND YOUR FAMILY.



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