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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: cynthia beko <cynthiabeko@att.net>
Reply-To: cynthiabeko@live.com
Date: Thu, 10 Feb 2011 18:00:07 -0800 (PST)
Subject: DEAR FRIEND,



DEAR FRIEND,



how are you over there in your country? i hope all is well with you, i hope you may not know me, and i don`t know who you are, My Name is Miss Cynthia Beko,i am just browsing now and i just saw your profile it seams like some thing interested to me,i started having some feelings in me to contact you please i will like you to contact me with my id i have something to share with you in person OK,i mean to tell you before we go on,l will also like to know you the more,and l want you to send an email to my email address here waiting for your mail to my email address above.Miss Cynthia

Anti-fraud resources: