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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:
  • "trunk box" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
  • "million dollars" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
  • "abidjan" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
• This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
  
• This email lists mobile phone numbers. Use of such numbers is typical for scams because they allow criminals to conceal their true location. They can receive calls in an Internet cafe from where they send you emails, while pretending to be in some office.
  • +22508157757 (Cote d'Ivoire, probably a prepaid mobile phone)

Fraud email example:

From: mariam alfarouk <mariam_fa110@yahoo.fr>
Reply-To: ma1957@y7mail.com
Date: Fri, 3 Oct 2008 11:38:03 +0000 (GMT)
Subject: as my partner


Dear,

My name is Mariam Alfarouk, wife of the late Dr Alfarouk, who before his death was the Director general of the Sierra Leone Gold and Diamond Corporation,(SGDC).It was during the war and in the attack by the rebels loyal to the rebel leader,Foday SANKOH, that lead to the killing of my dear husband and daughter, leaving my son Williams and i,as the only survival because we attended a funeral ceremony. When we heard of the killings of my husband and my little daughter, we now felt unsafe in the country and we managed to escape into Abidjan/COTED'IVOIRE, through the help of a fisherman who operates a fishing trawler along the coastal river between the cote d' Ivoire and Sierra Leone. 
 
Please with us is the sum of US$22 million Dollars, contained in one metallic trunk box and presently deposited as family valuables in a reputable security company here in Abidjan. My aim for contacting you is to ask your  assistance as a front in transferring this money abroad into your designated account in your country and as a business developer, you will also help us to wisely invest the money in areas you deem lucrative and finally obtain a residential permit for us to stay comfortable with you there.
 
We can not go back to our country and we wish to travel out of cote d’ivoire before the worst happens. For God's sake be merciful to us and assist us to transfer this money into your account in your country, because as refugees here, i can not open an account in my name or my son's name.
 
We have agreed to offer to you 20% of the total sum in the box for your assistance.  and please we implore you to treat this transaction in all secrecy and confidentiality for security reasons, for this is our life. Do contact me or my son Williams for more details because i am presently very sick. the telephone number is: 00225 08157757 or write us an email. 
 
May God Bless You In Abundance,
Thank You,
Mariam ALFAROUK

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam