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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: "ASSOCIATION de GAMING" <mail_consumerservicesbhvrh@yahoo.de>
Date: Sun, 30 Mar 2008 01:01:12 +1000
Subject: CONGRATULATIONS! Your Winning Notice

LOTTERY INTERNATIONAL
PRIZE/PROMOTION AWARD DEPT.
Ref Number: PW 9590 ES 9414
Batch Number: 573881545-NL/2007
Ticket Number:PP 3502 /8707-01
Winning Amount: $2,500,000.00.

The online cyber lotto draws was conducted from an exclusive list of
25,000,000 e-mail addresses of individual and corporate bodies picked
by an advanced automated random computer search from the internet.

No tickets were sold.

After this automated computer ballot, your e-mail address emerged as a
winner in the category "A" To file in for the processing of your prize
winnings, you are advised to contact our Certified and Accredited
claims agent for category "A" winners with the information below:
*************************************
Claims Agent.
Name: Ralph Germain
Phone: +31 647 283 937
Email: mainheadoffice1@aim.com
Email: mail_officemarkt@yahoo.de
*************************************
You are advised to provide him with the following information:

Names:
Telephone/Fax number:
Nationality:
Occupation:
Age:

Congratulations on your Winning Prize and we look forward to completing
your payout soon.

Yours Faithfully,

Mary Jones
Lottery Coordinator.

***This email may contain information which is confidential and/or
privileged. The information is intended solely for the use of the
individual or entity named above. If you are not the intended
ecipient, be aware that any disclosure, copying, distribution or use
of the contents is prohibited. If you have received this electronic
transmission in error, please notify the sender by telephone or
return email and delete the material from your computer***


Anti-fraud resources: