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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: "William Jones" <william@jasonprintsx.com>
Reply-To: wjonesxz@aol.com
Date: Tue, 28 Jan 2014 20:51:10 -0500
Subject: Message.




Hello Friend,

Its me William Jones from Bahrain i want to donate what I have to the
needy.You Could be surprised why i picked you. But someone has to do it. I
am have been diagonalized with HIV/AIDS which has defiled all forms of
medical treatment. and I have been told by my doctor that my days are
numbered on earth. I have been touched to donate from what I have made
from this World to charity through you for the good work of humanity,
rather than allow my relatives to use my hard earned funds inappropriately
after my death.

I hope to be forgiven for all my sins and I believe he has, because He is
merciful. I have been living with HIV/AIDS and i know that the disease has
no cure therefore i will surely die. I have made up my mind to give out (
Eighteen Million Five Hundred Thousand Dollars) towards the fight against
HIV/AIDS, other forms of cancer and other human related diseases. I want
this to be done through you. Part of the money would also be used to help
the motherless, less privileged and also for the assistance of the widows.
Presently, i can not answer calls because i have been restricted by my
doctor from taking telephone calls because I deserve all the rest I can
get.

Presently, I have informed a lawyer about my decision in donating the
funds. If you are able to carry out this task, i will inform the legal
adviser so that he can arrange the release of the funds to you. I know I
have never met you but my mind tells me to do this,and I hope you act
sincerely.I will pay you a handsome amount of this money if you will
assist me because I am now weak to do things myself because of my
HIV/AIDS.

Please email me with your contact information such as Your Full Names,
Address, Direct Telephone number and direct email address, Occupation.

Regards,
William Jones

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