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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: Sharon Wales <sharonwales@yahoo.com>
Reply-To: sharonwales209@live.com
Date: Sun, 18 Dec 2011 10:03:20 +0400
Subject: (no subject)



--
Hello,
My name is Sharon Wales member of the USARPAC Medical Team was stationed in
Baghdad, Iraq.
I want to share important information about my experience while serving
with the U.S 1st Armored here in Iraq that would be of mutual benefit to
us. I however cannot reveal all the information now due to the fact that we
have not yet agreed to cooperate in this mutually beneficial enterprise. In
other words, I am constrained to hold back some information for security
reasons for now until you have find the time to visit the BBC website links
below to enable you have an insight into what I intend to share with you,
hoping that the information contained there will pique your interest one
way or the other. Please view the bbc news website below;
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2988455.stm
http://www.jonathanforeman.com/military/nyp_iraq/04192003_chest.html
After digesting the information contained in the website I will like a
confirmation of that so that we can discuss a matter of high importance and
mutual interest. I must confess that I am very uncomfortable sending this
message to you as I cannot predict your reaction, you may misconstrue the
importance and decide to go public, which will be rather unfortunate. With
the worse in mind, I have to say that the essence of this message is
strictly for mutual benefit.
I will be more explicit upon a response from you. Please respond with a
confirmation that you have visited the website and that are keen on
learning more.
I await your thoughts via my personal email address;
sharonwales209@live.com Thanks for your time,
Best Regards

Sharon Wales


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