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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: "Dr. Sandra Zagrab" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <claimstaats@aol.com>
Date: Thu, 25 Mar 2010 23:21:15 +0100
Subject: Contact Mr. Nicholas Brown for claims !!!

Contact Mr. Nicholas Brown for claims !!!

Sir/Madam

We are happy to inform you that you have emerged a winner under the Second Category of our promotion.
Winners were picked by computerized system, drawn from companies and individuals e-mail addresses worldwide.
The draws are officially announced 24th of March, 2010. You have being therefore awarded a lump sum of
One Million Euros, which is the winning pay out for Category A winners.

NOTE: For easy reference and identification, remember to quote these winning numbers stated below in your
correspondence to our claim Department: Ticket Number: 684775444, Reference number: 63584,SQ/33,
Lucky numbers: 57/qt/845600 and Serial numbers: 3856/79678

Please contact Sponsorloterij Claim department immediately for due processing and remittance of your prize money.

Mr. Nicholas Brown
Tel: +31- 684 609 797
Fax: +31- 847 111 492
Reply to Email: claimstaats@aol.com

Sincerely Yours,
Dr. Sandra Zagrab
Promotion Coordinator.

Anti-fraud resources: