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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 Patterson Ashford" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <patterson.ashford@ymail.com>
Date: Sat, 8 Dec 2012 20:20:48 -0800
Subject: Letter Of Intent

Dear Friend,
I need your consent to transfer $57.5 million dollars in Unclaimed Deposit which has remained unclaimed since 1999.
The Funds will be moved to any of our correspondent Banks in "YOUR NAME" immediately to secure the funds first.
The Principal will be shared on a 30/70 basis.
Please,e-mail me your info as below.

Your Name:
Address:
Phone Number:
Scan Copy ID:

Reply to my email below : patterson.ashford@ymail.com
Yours faithfully,
Mr Patterson Ashford

Anti-fraud resources: