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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: "TIMOTHY BRUCE" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <timothybruce@live.com>
Date: Wed, 1 Jun 2011 03:47:00 +0100
Subject: MYSTERY SHOPPER NEEDED

Hello
We are a company that conduct surveys and evaluate other
companies. We get hired to go to other peoples companies and act like customers
in order to know how the staffs are handling their services in relation to their
customers. once we have a contract to do so, you would be directed to the
company or outlet, and you would be given the funds you need to do the job( either
purchase things or require services), after which you would write a comment on
the staffs activities and give a detailed record of your experience

examples of details you would forward to us are
1) How long it took you to get services.
2) Smartness of the attendant
3)Customer service professionalism
4)Sometimes you might be required to upset the attendant, to see how they
react to clients when they get tensed..

And we turn the information over to the company executives and they would
carry out their own duties in improving there services.

Most companies employ our assistance when people give complains
about their services, or when they feel there are needs for them to improve
their customer service. your Identity would be kept confidential as the job states
(secret shopper) you would be paid $500 for every duty you carry out, and bonus on your
transportation allowance, and funds would be given to you if you have to dine as
part of the duty

Your job will be to evaluate and comment on customer service in a wide
variety of shops, stores, restaurant and services in your area.
No commitment is made on this job, and you would have flexible hours as
it suits you. If you are interested do send in your full name contact address
and telephone number, so we can look at your distance from the locations which you have to put
your service into, and your address would also be need for your payments.
Thanks
Tim Doltin
shoppers Guide Ltd.

Anti-fraud resources: