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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: "VISA" (may be fake)
Date: Sat, 25 Sep 2010 12:51:13 +0100
Subject: Verified By Visa.

VISA NL- Ownership Verification
Visa plc



Dear Sir/Madam,

Als gevolg van de steeds toenemende fraude jegens u, onze goede klanten, hebben wij besloten om er een einde aan te maken door het nemen van drastische maatregelen zoals deze en vragen wij dus u medewerking..

Wij, de Online Security Team van VISA, vragen u hierbij om uw online account in te vullen met VISA op onze beveiligde server. Ons motief is om u primaire IP-adres te registreren als de enige IP-adres waarmee u toegang zult hebben tot uw online account. Niemand zal dus ooit toegang hebben tot uw online account, behalve u.

Wij vragen u om dit bericht te negeren voor later als u niet in het gebruik bent van uw persoonlijke computer zodat er geen complicaties kunnen optreden.
U dient onze beveiligde link te volgen en uw gegevens in te vullen op.

www.verifiedbyvisa.com

VISA Netherlands
Alvast bedankt,
De Visa-Team.

© Copyright Visa Europe 2010. All rights reserved.

Anti-fraud resources: