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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: "Eric Brown" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <eb147pin@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 5 Oct 2012 05:15:24 -0400
Subject: Good Offer

Greetings,

I am Eric Brown, the Overseas Fund Officer of an Investment Bank here in London.

My client, General Daoud Rajha who died recently during the Syria insurgency, made a fixed deposit of Thirty Six Million pounds in my branch.

>From investigations, he did not declare any next of kin. So, I need you as a foreigner to act as the next of kin to get
this fund for us because the funds will revert to the UK Treasury if nobody comes forward.

My anticipated percentages for sharing shall be fair enough 25% for me, 25% for you and the remaining 50% will be donated to a reputable charity organisation. Please

specify by replying to state if you are interested.

Best Regards,
Eric Brown

Anti-fraud resources: