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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: mabel mabel <dearmabel2000@yahoo.co.uk>
Date: Wed, 12 Dec 2012 15:47:14 +0000 (GMT)
Subject: FROM MRS. MABEL BRIGGS / THIS IS URGENT



Hello dear,
I am Mrs. Mabel Briggs, a Libyan expatriate with the Nigerian National Petroleum Cooperation, Lagos, Nigeria. I am in a desperate need to transfer the sum of $25.6M US Dollars from a dormant account in a bank to your personal account as a matter of urgency. This urgency is because of the fact that the central bank governor has instituted a committee of inquiry to look into certain accounts like this very one and so I and my partner, Mr. Erik Ermann, will like you to secure it for us. And moreover, owing to the recent crises, I do not have any relation in Libya at the present or a friend I can entrust this fund to .I assure you that it is risk free on your part. All I require from you is confidence and trust. Note that once you help us secure the fund, we are going to give you a good percentage of the total money (say, 3o% or as we may agree). You don’t have anything to lose or fear about. If you frankly help us transfer this money, you will benefit and
we will be very grateful to you. Please, get back to me immediately indicating your interest and I will give you the details of the account and my plans toward getting the money to you and how we are going to split it. Please, treat this as urgent and confidential. You can reach me through this email or barrgabbriggs@yahoo.com / dearmabel2000@yahoo.co.uk
Thanks for your understanding.

Sincerely yours,
Mrs. Mabel Brigg

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