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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: "Sir Gordon Wilson" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <sirgordonwilson@yahoo.com.ph>
Date: Thu, 1 Mar 2012 16:33:36 -0800
Subject: Dear beneficiary,

Dear Beneficiary,


RE: £100,000.00 COMPENSATION APPROVED BY HM TREASURY

In lieu of available data in our possession regarding your loss of large
sum of money through internet scam, Her Royal Majesty Treasury (HM) has
approved the above mentioned compensation in your favour through the Bank
of England (BOE).



This is to assist you towards rebuilding your financial status. The fund
will be credited to a prepaid Platinum Gold card which will be dispatched
to you upon receipt of your mailing address and the mandatory obligation
that follows.



Please respond to this email for further details.



Yours Sincerely,

Sir. Gordon Wilson

Anti-fraud resources: