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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: "Mr.Larry James" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <larrijames1@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 25 Mar 2011 23:27:09 -0700
Subject: I come in peace,

 
Attn: Please,
During our auditing, I discovered a fund claim on your name but after much scrutiny, it was obvious that the fund does not originally belonged to you which made it difficult for the fund to be released to your favor.
I am contacting you now to find out if you will be able and capable of receiving the total sum of $20M into your account for our mutual benefits.  This fund must be into your account if I have your maximum cooperation.
I come in peace, never be scared in any way.
Get back to me for more clarifications.
Regards,
Mr. James.

Anti-fraud resources: