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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: rev.fatherpaulwilliams@outlook.com
Date: Fri, 27 Sep 2013 04:44:47 -0700
Subject: Remain bless in the Lord

My Dear Beloved in Lord,

My name is Rev. Father Paul Williams; I am 61 years old now.
I have been suffering in the sick bed for the past 7 years.
Now I believe that my time has come to join my ancestors in
heaven. I got your email address from the Internet, as the
spirit of Almighty God directed me to contact you for this
charity work.

I have $5,000,000.00 deposited in a safe location, which I
want you to claim on my behalf for an important charitable
project. Can you honestly do this for me?

Remain bless in the Lord.

Rev. Father Paul Williams

Anti-fraud resources: