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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: Vivian Salem <abcd75396@fidelityintl.org>
Reply-To: viviansalem446@rediffmail.com
Date: Mon, 09 May 2011 03:10:26 -0500
Subject: Please, read my mail and reply.

My Dear Beloved,
My name is Mrs. Vivian Salem. I am 59 years old now. I have been
suffering in the sick bed for the past 3 years at King George
Hospital, London, now I believe that my time has come to join my
ancestors in heaven. I got your email address from the Internet, as
the spirit of Almighty God directed me to contact you for this charity
work. I inherited the sum of US$11.1M deposited in a safe location in
Europe by my late husband, Mr. Salem Nasim an Iraqi which I want you
to claim on my behalf for an important charitable project. Can you
honestly do this for me? Please visit this website for verification:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/middle_east/04/vivians_story/html/1.stm

Remain bless in the Lord.

Mrs. Vivian Salem.

Anti-fraud resources: