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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: "Desmond Attah" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <desmondattah1@yahoo.com>
Date: Mon, 21 Oct 2013 11:29:58 -0000
Subject: Greetings to you

Greetings to you,

It is my pleasure to contact you for a business venture which I hope you will be able to assist out. Actually I am a protection clerk in the Liberia refugee camp here in Accra,Ghana.

I have been approached by young boy called Larry Tarodi and his sick mother to assist them look for a reliable person to receive their family box which was sent to the Malaysia a month ago. If you can assist the family pick up this box from the diplomat, then reply to me immediately as the family is very worried that they might lost $5,000,000.00 USD (Five Million United State Dollars) which is in the box.

The diplomat was suppose to deliver the box to their family partner who later turnout to be greedy when the consignment arrived the Malaysia. He wanted 50% from the total money and the family was in disagreement with him because, that was not the initial agreement. They have given me the mandate to look for a new person to receive the box from the diplomat.

The family says you will be given 30% if you can assist them receive the consignment box on their behalf. If possible, you can also help them to buy a house and invest in your country for a percentage fee. If you are interested in helping out, please reply back with the following details below:

1) Full Names
2) Contact Address
3) Contact phone numbers
4) City
5) Country

I will be waiting for your prompt response.

Best Regards,
Desmond Attah

Anti-fraud resources: