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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: Mr Martin Johnson <martinjohnson24@xtra.co.nz>
Date: Fri, 21 May 2010 09:37:00 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: ATTENTION PLEASE/Let u


 
Good Day My Dear,
 
A deceased client of mine, that shares the same surname with you, died on the 1st of October 2006 in an automobile accident including his wife and the only daughter. He had a deposit of USD 17.4M with the bank here, and now they have asked me to provide a next of kin.
 
Please on your confirmation of this message and indicating your interest, I will furnish you with more information. Endeavor to let me know your decision rather than keep me waiting.
 
Best regards,
Barr. Martins Johnson.
==============================================================================
Goede Dag lieve,
 
Een overleden cliënt van mij, die dezelfde achternaam met u, overleden op 01-10-2006 in een auto-ongeval met inbegrip van zijn vrouw en de enige dochter. Hij had een borgsom van USD 17,4 miljoen bij de bank hier, en nu hebben ze mij gevraagd om een naaste verwanten te bieden.
 
Gelieve op uw bevestiging van dit bericht met vermelding van uw interesse, ik zal verstrekken u meer informatie. Endeavor om mij te laten weten wat uw beslissing dan hou me op te wachten.
 
Met vriendelijke groet,
Barr. Martins Johnson.

Anti-fraud resources: