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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: "Mr. Qi" <hoffmann@meine-landwirtschaft.de>
Reply-To: whuzangqi@yahoo.com.hk
Date: Sat, 19 Apr 2014 04:07:59 +0800
Subject: THIS IS MY THIRD AND FINAL EMAIL TO YOU.

My name is Mr. Whuzang Qi. I am the auditor general and head of computers here in DBS Bank Hong Kong Branch.

I have only written to seek your indulgence and assistance. I wish to make a transfer involving a sum amount of base 9,000,000.00 {Nine Million B.Pounds Sterling} of Late Ms. Carol White out of the Bank, she died since 1999, till now the account remain dormant/unclaimed. I propose to transfer the funds to a designated account of your choice. Thus, for your indulgence and support, I propose an offer of 25% of the total amount to be yours after the transfer has been successfully concluded.

Kindly reply me stating your interest and I shall furnish you with the necessary details with which to make the transfer progress.

Regards,
Mr. Qi

Anti-fraud resources: