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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: "Dr. (Mrs.) Elizabeth Arthur" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <theresarawn@secretarias.com>
Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2014 20:58:59 -0600
Subject: RE: RE-VALIDATION OF UNCLAIMED FUNDS

Bureau Of Unclaimed Funds 915 2nd Ave Ste 3410, Seattle, WA 98104 Tel: 206-339-5662 Date: 21th of Febuary, 2014 RE: RE-VALIDATION OF UNCLAIMED FUNDS I would like to officially inform you that after the receipt of the report from the committee setup to review your awaited payment, we certify that the funds are legal and of clean bill. We further discovered that these funds were in the process of being diverted to a bank in the Channels Island before it was detected by the regional authorities and put on hold. We were further informed that the funds bear your name and from all indications, you are not aware of the diversion of these funds as you must have been discouraged from claiming these funds by those who were in position to pay you. Be informed that the sum of $8,500,000.00 [Eight Million and Five Hundred Thousand US Dollars] has been endorsed for immediate remittance in your favor via a United States Treasury certified bank. Please confirm this notification by sending the following information below to the paying bank via a Regional Account Manager that has been assigned to assist you to process and pay the afore mentioned sum to you within 72hours: Full Names: Address: Occupation: Sex: Tel Number(s): Nationality: Regional Account Officer Contact Person: Mrs. Theresa Rawn Email: theresarawn@secretarias.com The verification and payment procedures will commence as soon as she receives your contact email. Yours truly, Dr. (Mrs.) Elizabeth Arthur United States Treasury Bureau Of Unclaimed Funds

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