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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: "From Paul Martins" <paulmartins22009@yahoo.co.in> (may be fake)
Date: Tue, 4 Mar 2008 16:17:05 +0000
Subject: VOTRE COURIER ELETRONIQUE EST GAGNER 250.000 EUROS

GOOD DAY, I NEED YOUR SERVICES IN A CONFIDENTIAL MATTER REGARDING MONEY OUT OF A FAMILY BENEFICIARY DEPOSIT FOR INVESTMENT IN YOUR COUNTRY AS SUCH I DECIDED TO ESTABLISH CONTACT WITH YOU FOR ASSISTANCE. THIS REQUIRES A PRIVATE ARRANGEMENT, AS YOU WILL RECEIVE THE FUND FROM BANK UNDER LEGAL CLAIMS; ALL LEGAL DOCUMENTS WILL BE CAREFULLY WORKED OUT TO ENSURE A RISKY FREE CLAIM. I AM WILLING TO OFFER YOU 35% OUT OF THE TOTAL SUM AS WELL AS APPRECIATION AS SOON AS THIS CLAIM IS COMPLETED. I HAVE ALL THE DETAILS, ALL CORRESPONDENCES WILL BE VIA EMAIL, FOR NOW. THE FUND IN QUESTION IS QUITE LARGE. I WILL EXPECT A STRAIGHT ANSWER FROM YOU. YES OR NO. IF YES. NOBODY KNOWS THE WAY ABOUT OF THE DEPOSITOR AND HIS FAMILY AND UP TILL NOW. KINDLY FURNISH ME WITH YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION BELOW. 1) YOUR FULL NAME. 2) PHONE, FAX AND MOBILE. 3) HOME/COMPANY ADDRESS. 4) YOUR OCCUPATION. PLEASE SEND ME AN E-MAIL AS SOON AS YOU RECEIVE THIS LETTER FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION AND MORE CLARIFICATION. THANKS AND GOD BLESS YOU. DR. PAUL WILLIAMS

Anti-fraud resources: