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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: "Sheikh Ahmad Moaz Al-Khatib" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <ahmadmoaz@myself.com>
Date: Wed, 12 Feb 2014 07:00:00 -0600
Subject: Hello

My name is Sheikh Ahmad Moaz Al-Khatib, leader of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces. We have a very serious problem that needs an urgent attention which I believed you can urgently handle for us. Our difficulty is, we have a substantial amount of cash that we channelled to a reputable finance and Security company in Europe. We have just concluded at a meeting today, that we should involve a foreigner to receive the funds on our behalf, as the political climate here in Syria do not support our moving out of Syria. So, that is why your partnership is required, to assist us retrieve the funds from the Security Company, because the funds is not to be delayed in the custody of the Security Company, any longer than agreed. There is no risk involved in this matter. Reply me now to enable me give you full narrative of the funds and the Vault Company where the funds are deposited. We pledge to reward you reasonably and we already have all arrangement concluded to swiftly release the funds to you, on our behalf. I await your email response and be free to respond to my email: (ahmadmoaz@myself.com) with any question. Sheikh Ahmad Moaz Al-Khatib

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