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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: Dr Adolphus Ofor <dradolphus7@hotmail.com>
Reply-To: <dradolphus1@yahoo.com.hk>
Date: Wed, 15 Aug 2007 10:49:19 +0100
Subject: Attention: Sir/Madam



Attention: Sir/Madam, Do accept my sincere apologies if my mail does not meet your personal ethics. I am writing in respect of a foreign customer of our bank with account number 14-255-114 whose name is Mr. Morris Thompson, an american by citizen who perished in a plane crash of Alaska Airlines Flight 261 which crashed on January 31 2000, including his wife and only daughter. You shall read more about the crash on visiting this site which I got during my investigation; http://www.cnn.com/2000/US/02/01/alaska.airlines.list. From my investigations and confirmations, Mr. Morris Thompson died without makeing a will and since then nobody has done anything as regards the claiming of this money because he has no family members who is are aware of the existence of neither the account nor the funds. I have secretly discussed this matter with some of the bank officials and we have agreed to find a reliable foreign partner to deal with. We thus propose to do business with you, standing in as the next of kin of these funds from the deceased( ,Late Mr. Morris Thompson) and funds released to you after due processes have been followed. This transaction is totally free of risk and troubles as the fund is a legitimate and does not originate from drug, moneylaundry, terrorism or any other illegal act. On your interest, let me hear from you. Regards,Dr Adolphus Ofor
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Anti-fraud resources: