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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: "Wood Morgan" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <woodmorgan@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 6 May 2014 20:10:56 -0700
Subject: MY GOOD FRIEND

 
MY GOOD FRIEND,
I AM WOOD MORGAN A SENIOR STAFF WITH THE CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA (CBN).I AND THE CHIEF SECURITY OFFICER (CSO) OF OUR BANK HAVE ARRANGED WITH
AN OFFICER IN THE COMPUTER SECTION OF THIS BANK, ENGINEER MARK DAVIS TO BRING OUT YOUR TOTAL SUM AMOUNTING TO {$5 MILLION UNITED STATES DOLLARS} FIVE MILLION US
DOLLARS.WHY WE DID THIS, IS BECAUSE ACCORDING TO INFORMATION GATHERED FROM THE BANKS COMPUTER, YOU HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR A LONG TIME TO RECEIVE YOUR MONEY WITHOUT SUCCESS. ASn I FOUND OUT THAT YOU HAVE ALMOST MET ALL THE STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS OF THE CBN IN RESPECT OF YOUR CONTRACT PAYMENT, YOUR PROBLEM IS THAT OF INTEREST GROUPS.
A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE INTERESTED IN YOUR PAYMENT AND THOSE PEOPLE ARE MERELY DOING PAPER WORK WITH YOU AND THAT EXPLAINS WHY YOU RECEIVE FAX AND PHONE MESSAGES FROM
DIFFERENT PEOPLE EVERYDAY.ALSO WE FOUND OUT THAT SOME OF THE OFFICIALS OF VARIOUS PARASTATALS HAVE BEEN EXTORTING A LOT OF MONEY FROM YOU IN THE PRETEXT OF HELPING YOU
RECEIVE YOUR MONEY, I CAN ASSURE YOU THAT THIS MAY LAST FOR YEARS YET NOTHING WOULD
HAPPEN IF YOU DO NOT DO AWAY WITH THOSE OFFICERS THAT YOU CALL YOUR PARTNERS.I AM WILLING TO HELP YOU GET YOUR MONEY BUT PLEASE FOR SECURITY REASONS DO NOT TELL
ANYBODY THAT YOU HAVE YOUR MONEY UNTIL YOU RECEIVE CASH AT YOUR DOORSTEP.THE MONEY IS IN TWO SECURITY-PROOF BOXES WEIGHING 10KG EACH, THAT IS 20KG FOR THE TWO BOXES,
YESTERDAY WE WENT TO FOUR COURIER SERVICE TO MAKE ARRANGEMENTS ON HOW TO SHIP THEM BY COURIER SERVICE TO YOU. DHL, EMS , FEDEX AND UPS, ALL SAID THAT THEY MUST OPEN
THE BOXES FOR INSPECTION BY THE CUSTOMS BEFORE SHIPMENT.THIS IS SOMETHING WE WANT TO AVOID BECAUSE THE BOXES WERE PADDED WITH MACHINE. WE
TOLD THE COURIER SERVICE THAT THE BOXES CONTAINS PHOTOGRAPHIC AND FILM MATERIALS AND WHEN OPENED WILL LOOSE ITS EFFICACY. WE DID NOT DECLARE MONEY BECAUSE COURIER
SERVICEDOES NOT CARRY MONEY.
TODAY A FRIEND OF MINE WHO IS A CHRISTIAN LIKE ME DISCLOSED TO ME THAT THERE IS A COURIER SERVICE THEY USE TO SEND PACKAGES AND INFORMATION FROM ONE COUNTRY TO
ANOTHER, AND THE COURIER SERVICE CAN DELIVER THE PACKAGE ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD AND CANNOT BE INSPECTED BY ANY CUSTOMS ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD.THE NAME OF THE COURIER
SERVICE IS BARNET LOGISTICS LTD.
I WILL MEET WITH THEM AS SOON AS I HAVE YOUR GO AHEAD ORDER.THE COURIER SERVICE WILL HELP ME SO WE DO NOT HAVE ANY PROBLEM.WE HAVE CONCLUDED THAT YOU MUST COMPENSATE
US WITH {$500,000 USD} FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND UNITED STATES DOLLARS AS SOON AS YOU RECEIVE YOUR MONEY.
YOU ARE REQUIRED TO RE-CONFIRM THE UNDER LISTED DETAILS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE FOR
ONWARD SHIPMENT OF YOUR OVER DUE CONTRACT FUND:
YOUR FULL NAME:                   
PRIVATE TELEPHONE NUMBER:
CHOICE OF ADDRESS {where you wish the consignment delivered}:
PRESENT OCCUPATION:          
AGE:                                           
GOD IS WITH US AS WE WAIT FOR YOUR REPLY.
YOURS FAITHFULLY,
WOOD MORGAN,
 

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