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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: "SGT.Wilkins Ray" <sgt.wilkinsray19@yahoo.com>
Reply-To: sgt.wilkinsray@gmail.com
Date: Wed, 4 Feb 2009 08:45:59 -0800 (PST)
Subject: URGENT ATTENTION NEEDED.


I have a new email address!You can now email me at: sgt.wilkinsray19@yahoo.com



- Sir/Madam, We are team (THREE IN NUMBER) of American troops writing from Baghdad , Iraq , we are urgently seeking for your willingness to secure the below consignment. The goods consist of huge amount of money in sealed boxes.At this moment, we have already ship these goods (money) outside Iraq for safekeeping through a very strong security company but due to law and restriction order we are unable to transport the goods to America ; the security company now shipped it to GERMANY for safety in their vault warehouse. That is the reason we are soliciting for your interest to assist us in receiving the goods on our behalf. Out of the US$29.5 million in cash, we are only ready to relinquish US$5.5 million to you if you can assist us secure this money in your country or any safe place. We will appreciate your effort to reach us through email confirming your interest to our proposal. As soon as we receive your positive reply we will give you the contact of the trusted security company as the owner of the consignments. The only telephone access we have is radio message which is for our general use and is being monitored therefore all communication will be via email till we finish our assignment here and fly straight to your country to meet you. Thank God that the new President – Elect, Barack Obama whose keen interest is call us back home soon. Yours truly, SGT.Wilkins Ray and Team Iraq.


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