419 scam: "Mr. Matthew Clayton" <info@mathew.org> Dear friend,

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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.

Click here to report a problem with this page.

Some comments by the Scam-O-Matic about the following email:

This email uses a separate reply address that is different from the sender address. Spammers use this to get replies even when the original spam sending accounts have been shut down. Also, sometimes the sender addresses are legitimate looking but fake and only the reply address is actually an email account controlled by the scammers.
The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "dear friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.

Fraud email example:

From: "Mr. Matthew Clayton" <info@mathew.org>
Reply-To: Mr.Matthew_Clayton@live.com
Date: Mon, 1 Jun 2009 07:07:01 -0400
Subject: Dear friend,

Dear friend,

My name is Mr. Matthew Clayton; I work in the Euro Lottery Department. I am soliciting
your assistance for a swift transfer of £5,000 000.00GBP, should you be willing to
assist me in this project. And you will be giving me just 30% of your winnings. Just a
brief introduction on what you have to do, just register online as a player, due to my
position in the company I can make it happen that you would be a winner of the above
stated amount. Naturally, every body would like to play a lottery if they are assured
of winning. I am assuring you today to be a winner, please do not take for granted this
once in a life time opportunity as we both stand to collectively gain from this at the
success of the transaction.

Should you be willing to assist me in this transaction and be rich for the rest of your
life, I guarantee you that this will be executed under a legitimate arrangement that
will protect you from any breach of the law. Please get in touch with me
urgently by
E-mail: Mr.Matthew_Clayton@live.com

I trust you will be willing to be a winner; we will discuss much in details when I
receive your response.

Regards,
Mr. Matthew Clayton.

****************PRIVATE & CONFIDENTIAL**************
This e-mail and any attached files are confidential and may be legally privileged.
If you are not the addressee, any disclosure, reproduction, copying, distribution, or
other dissemination or use of this communication is strictly prohibited.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam