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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: "Elena Abie" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <elena.abie@yahoo.com.my>
Date: Tue, 27 Mar 2012 19:31:43 -0000
Subject: From From Elena Abie,Waiting your Reply

>From Elena Abie
Abidjan Cote d'Ivoire

Dearest one,

I am Elena Abie, the only daughter of late Mr.Alfred Abie I am 18 years old and My father is a wealthy cocoa merchant. Trouble began when my father's partners began to suspect that my father is not giving proper accounts of all the tonnes of cocoa being produced by local farmers in some villages. As a result of this and the envy on the money he was assasinated by his business partners during the political crises.

Before his death, he deposited the sum of $3,500,000 (Three million, five hundred thousand United State Dollars) in a bank here in Ivory Coast for establishment of new farms. Since his death i have been living in a very difficult situation that is why i want you to stand as my guardian and and help me transfer the money in your Country. i also want you to invest it in any good business for me. According to the agreement that my late father made with the bank, I cannot take control of the money until i reach the age of 23. I talked with the bank and they advised me that they can only release the money to my guardian.

I need your help and due to the current political sutuation in Cote d' Ivoire, i am seeking your assistance to transfer this Money to your country and also relocate to your country to continue with my studies. I shall reward you greatly for your kind assistance to me after the transfer of the money to your account.

I hope and wait for your kind reply. Thank you,

Regards,
Elena Abie.

Anti-fraud resources: