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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.

Click here to report a problem with this page.

 

 

Some comments by the Scam-O-Matic about the following email:

Fraud email example:

From: "Dr. Thomas Gomez" <adac.intl@gmail.com>
Reply-To: mrbenwhite10@gmail.com
Date: Mon, 20 Jan 2014 22:30:51 +0100
Subject: Your Compensation Award

Attn:

There is an issue with the European Payments Council in the amount of
$1,500,000.00 credited to your email address. Your wining bank draft
has been loaded into ATM card by the issuing bank for delivery to your
address. For more information and clarification; Contact our zonal
coordinator with your details for delivery via email-
mrbenwhite10@gmail.com) Mr.Benson White. Tel: +229-98689312

Best Regards,

Dr.Thomas Gomez
Payments Committee - European Commission

Anti-fraud resources: