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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:
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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)
  • "your urgent reply" (scammers rush victims so they don't have time to think properly)
  • "i got your email address from " (this SPAM email was probably sent to thousands of people)
• This email message is a "dying widow" scam.

Fraud email example:

From: (sent from abused email account)
Reply-To: margaretdenko@o2.pl
Date: Wed, 19 Nov 2008 17:52:52 -0800 (PST)
Subject: GREETINGS & BLESSINGS TO YOU


¡Tengo nueva dirección de correo!Ahora puedes escribirme a:denko_margaret2@yahoo.com.co



- Dear Beloved,Let me first of all inform you,I got your email address from a mail Directory and decided to mail you for a permission to go ahead.I am Ms. Margaret Denko from Holland.I am married to Dr.Harry Denko from Mauritius who worked with a construction company in Asia for twenty Years before he died in the tsunami disasters,we were married but without Any children.Since his death I decided not to remarry and presently I am 69 Years old.When my late husband was Alive he deposited the sum of $9.5 million (Nine Million Five Hundred Thousand Dollars)with an European bank.Presently this money is still with the bank and the management just wrote me as the beneficiary to come forward to receive the deposited fund or rather Issue a letter of authorization to somebody to receive it on my behalf if I cannot come over.I am presently in a hospital where I have been undergoing treatment Cancer of the lungs in a hospital,I have since lost my ability to talk and my doctors have told me that I have only a few months to live.I want a person that is trustworthy that will utilize90% of this money to fund churches,orphanages and widows around the world but in our name Dr and Ms Harry Denko's Foundation.As soon as I receive your reply I shall give you the contact of the bank.I will also issue you a letter of authority that will prove you as the new beneficiary of this deposited fund.Please assure me that you will act accordingly as I stated here in and Keep this contact confidential till such a time this funds get to your Custody.This is to ensure that nothing jeopardizes my last wish on Earth.I await your urgent reply.Blessings,Mother Margaret.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam