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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: "Mary Anderson." (may be fake)
Reply-To: <maryanderson@qq.com>
Date: Wed, 4 Sep 2013 14:56:32 +0100
Subject: Waiting For Your Response...

Hello Dear ,
I came across your contact address while searching for someone to help me, I lost my parents and want you to stand as my foreign trustee to retrive and invest USD$6.5 Million which I inherited from my late parent. I tried to get this money out from the bank , but the management refused because of my age. I am ready to give you 25% of the whole money at the completion of the transaction, write me back for more details.
Regards, Miss. Mary Anderson.

Anti-fraud resources: