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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

• About the 419 (Advance Fee) scam
• "Is that email a scam?" - Check it online here!
  
• Frequently asked Questions (419 FAQ)
• Phone numbers used by 419 scammers
  (+225 +229 +234 +27 +31 +32 +34 +44 other)
• Company names mentioned in 419 spam:
  1 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
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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.

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:

• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "dear beloved," (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "remain blessed" (scammers in West Africa like to use religious phrases)
• This email message is a "dying merchant" scam.

Fraud email example:

From: "Wang, Chao-Ying" <cwang@devry.edu>
Date: Mon, 9 Jun 2008 10:06:20 -0500
Subject: BE MY BENEFICIARY FROM LOUISA STARKINS

DEAR BELOVED,

I am presently residing in my home town for treatment as I have being diagnosed by specialists that I have a little time left as the Esophageal cancer in me is growing fast.My name is Louisa Starkins and I am from Glasgow,United Kingdom.This ailment has defiled all forms of medical treatment, and right now I have only about a few months to live, according to medical experts and that is why I have decided to take this bold step.

I lost my husband,Mr.Patrick Starkins in 2003 after a very brief illness and we had no issues before his untimely demise.I have at present, no living relative or next of kin to lay claim to my assets and most importantly,a substantial amount left me by my late husband. Since his death in 2003,I decided not to re-marry or get a child outside my matrimonial home which is against my religion.So now that I cannot go on,I want to give this out as my last donation before I move on.

I have not particularly lived my life so well, as I never really cared for anyone (not even myself) but my business.Though I am very rich, I was never generous, I was always hostile to people and only focused on my business as that was the only thing I cared for. But now I regret all this as I now know that there is more to life than just wanting to have or make all the money in the world.Now I feel so terrible about this things hence my decision.

I want to believe that you will be capable of handling this task for me.I will wait to hear from you to know if you are capable of doing this favour for me.May the Lord bless you as you decide to do this .I will await your response and thank you for deciding to be used by the Lord for this task.I would throw more light on this donations as soon as i get your response.I cannot reveal much at this stage for obvious reasons.So please forgive me but I promise to give you more details as soon as I hear from you.

Your response should be channeled to my alternative email which is; louisasat33@live.com

Remain blessed.
Louisa Starkins

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam