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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: "Mrs. Marie Young" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <mrs.marieyoung019@yahoo.com.hk>
Date: Fri, 25 Apr 2014 06:46:52 +0100
Subject: Dear friend

Good day,

My name is Mrs. Marie Young, a widow and businesswoman, an American Citizen. I have recently been diagnosed with colorectal cancer and a rare heart disease, which has defied all medical treatment, which expert diagnosis has shown.

The intent of this email is to employ the expertise of a charity minded individual, who can identify a viable and guarantee reasonable distribution of my wealth which is in the tune of ($35,000,000USD) Thirty Five Million United States Dollars to the needy which is why am in contact with you. If you are of a charitable heart, kindly contact me back

Email: mrs.marieyoung019@yahoo.com.hk

King Regard,

Mrs. Marie Young

Anti-fraud resources: