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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: "HM Revenue & Customs" (may be fake)
Date: Tue, 30 Oct 2012 10:33:26 +0100
Subject: Tax Refund Notification


Tax Refund Notification


Date 30/10/2012 A tax refund of 892.73 GBP. (Still Pending) Due to invalid account record we were unable to credit your account. Please submit a verified at refund request.

Due to the high volume of refunds you must complete the online application. Telephone helpline is unable to assist with this application. In order to process your refund you will need to complete the application form attached to this email. Your refund may take up to 3 weeks to process please make sure you complete the form correctly.

Note: For security reasons, we will record your ip address, the date and time. Deliberate wrong inputs are criminally pursed and indicated.

An Income Tax repayment is a refund of tax that you've overpaid. So, if you've paid too much tax for example through your job or pension this year or in previous years HMRC will send you a repayment. You'll get the repayment by bank transfer directly to your credit or debit card.

Best Regards,
HM Revenue & Customs

Anti-fraud resources: