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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: Miss Mary Zaya <missmaryzaya@att.net>
Reply-To: maryzaya@att.net
Date: Mon, 10 Jan 2011 18:51:24 -0800 (PST)
Subject: Happy New Year From Mary

how are you doing?

i hope you are fine ,please don,t be surprise to receive my message, my
name is Mary. i came across your contact and i decided to communicate
with you,because i believe one can find a very good caring,
understanding and God fearing person anywhere in the world, i hope to
hear from you so that i will tell you more about my self with love and
trust, and as well give you my pics,please kindly write me back so that
we can know more about each other for further conversation.

yours new friend

Mary



Anti-fraud resources: