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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: "Secret ShopperX" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <andnorth@aol.com>
Date: Sat, 14 Jan 2012 16:05:34 -0600
Subject: MYSTERY SHOPPER EVALUATION ASSIGNMENT IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.....$200!!!

Dear Candidate,

We have a job offer available for you that will not disturb your present occupation. Currently we have available position for you to work for us.
See below description.

"We have a mystery shopping assignment in your area and we would like you to participate" Mystery Shopping Providers Association® (MSPA) is accepting
applications for qualified individuals to become mystery shoppers. It's fun and rewarding, and you choose when and where you want to shop. You are never
obligated to accept an assignment. There is no charge to become a shopper and you do not need previous experience. After you sign up, you will have access to
training materials via e-mail, fax or postal mail.

ABOUT US

Secret Shopper® is the premier mystery shopping company, serving clients across America and Canada with over 500,000 shoppers available and ready to help
businesses better serve their customers. Continual investment in the latest internet and communication technologies coupled with over 16 years of know-how
means working with Secret Shopper® is a satisfying and rewarding experience.Secret shopping as seen on ABC NEWS, NBC NEWS, L.A.TIMES. Stores and
organizations such as The Gap, Wal-Mart, Pizza Hut, and Banks. One amongst many others pay for Secret Shoppers to shop in their establishments and report their experiences. On top of being paid for shopping you are also allowed to keep purchases for free. Secret Shopper® NEVER charge fees to the shopper. Training,tips for improvement, and shopping opportunities are provided free to registered shoppers.
Mystery shoppers are either paid a pre-arranged fee for a particular shop, a reimbursement for a purchase or a combination of both.

Secret Shopper® has available,you will be required to interact with the shop clerk.
You may conduct the shop alone or as a couple.
The assignment will pay $200.00 or more per duty

Kindly Fill Out the application form below and we will get back to you shortly with the assignment:

PERSONAL INFORMATION:
First Name:
Last Name:
Street Address (No Po Box Acceptable) :
City, State, Zip Code:
Cell Phone Number/Home Phone Number:
Age:
Current Occupation:
Alternate Email Address:
AVAILABILITY:
Days/Hours Available
Monday:
Tuesday:
Wednesday:
Thursday:
Friday:
Saturday:
Sunday:
Hours Available: from _______ to ______

Assignment: We have had complaints on some western union, walmart,restaurant and money gram location in the services they render and we want you to
investigate it personally as our new Evaluator in your area By Going there to send funds. We will be sending you Payment in form of Money Orders to carry out
this assignment. So please take note of these instructions below.
We will send you Money Order which you will take to your Bank for Instant Cashing then you are to proceed to the location we are going to allocate to you
for investigation and you are to carry out every instructions we will be sending
to you via email to investigate this location.
We will want for you to email us as soon as you have carried out the comprehensive investigation and let us understand what you found out about your survey.
I hope you do understand what we have requested for you to do as our new evaluator,please confirm you do understand so we can approve your application and your new assignment will kick off immediately.
This is a very exciting job and is very rewarding. So please get back to us confirming your interest and we await your response for us to go ahead and
approve you.

We await your urgent response.

Thank you for your help.

We look forward working with you.

Sincerely,
David Cole.
Recruiting Department,
MSPA®

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