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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: "mrs.linda21@zipmail.com.br" <mrs.linda21@zipmail.com.br>
Date: Thu, 7 Jan 2010 20:36:04 -0200
Subject: URGENT FAMILY ASSISTANCE

PHAgY2xhc3M9Ik1zb05vcm1hbCIgc3R5bGU9Im1hcmdpbjogMGluIDBpbiAw cHQ7Ij48c3BhbiBzdHlsZT0iZm9udC1zaXplOiAxOHB0OyBjb2xvcjogYmxh Y2s7IGZvbnQtZmFtaWx5OiBBcmlhbDsiPjxzdHJvbmc+UGxlYXNlIFZpZXcg VGhlIEF0dGFjaG1lbnQ8L3N0cm9uZz4gYW5kIENhbGzCoE15IFNvbiBNci4g S2VubmV0aCBvbiBUaGlzIE5vOiArICgyNyk3MiA1NjAgNTY4OC4gQXMgU29v biBBcyBQb3NzaWJsZS4gVGhhbmtzIFlvdS4gTXJzLiBMaW5kYSBTaHVtYS48 L3NwYW4+PC9wPg==

Anti-fraud resources: