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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:

Fraud email example:

From: "Bank Of America Alert" (may be fake)
Date: Fri, 18 Dec 2009 19:00:40 +0100
Subject: Bank Of America Online Alert: Verify Your Online Banking Account.

Customer Service Security Department

Dear BankOfAmerica member:

Your Online Banking Account needs to be verified to allow you have access to online banking:
So we have issued this final warning message to you


This email is sent from our secure server to verify your Online Banking Account
as there have been a multiple error logons and Account failure.

Your access to online banking has been suspended temporaly
for security reasons by Bank Of America,N.A

Re-Verify your account now and enjoy the benefits of
BankOfAmerica Online Banking.

All informations entered must be accurate and correct
for your online access to be re-activated.

You must activate and verify your Online Banking Account to have access to online banking


Please
(Click Here)

Thank You,

Bank Of America Bank, N.A

Accounts Management As outlined in our User Agreement, Bank Of America will
periodically send you information about site changes and enhancements.

Visit our Privacy Policy and User Agreement if you have any questions.
http://www.bankofmerica.com/help /index.html

Anti-fraud resources: