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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: "U.K. - National Lottery" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <sisaldraw2009@live.it>
Date: Sat, 29 May 2010 19:21:32 -0700
Subject: CONGRATULATIONS!!! YOU WON 880,156.00 GBP.

                Date of Event:24th May 2010.
                Draw Number:2010/1496
              2nd Prize Match 6
     Lucky draw  numbers: 1 - 4 - 12 - 23 - 33 - 40 bonus number 35
        Amount of winnings: 880,156.00 GBP / 1,350,828.22 USD
              for claims
                Contact Name: Mrs. Joan Pablo
                Email address: mrsjoanpablo@gmail.com
(You will receive more information upon your acknowledgment of this email).
Note:Ensure to state your draw number in your email.
 
      Yours Sincerely, for U.K. - National Lottery 2010/1498

Anti-fraud resources: