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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: Martin Khumalo <hsbc.financier307@gmail.com>
Reply-To: engkhumalomartin@gmail.com
Date: Thu, 9 May 2013 08:24:09 +0100
Subject: NEXT OF KIN

DIRECTOR FOREIGN REMITTANCEFIRST NATIONAL BANK OF SOUTH AFRICANEXT OF KINDear, Kindly open the attached business proposal read and if you are interestedcall me on my phone number or send an email to me for security reasons. Ineed your strong assurance and confidentiality. God bless us. Best regards, MR. KHUMALO MARTIN(Director of Foreign Remittance)

Anti-fraud resources: