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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: "SGT.Josh Howard" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <sgtjoshhoward@she.com>
Date: Wed, 9 Jul 2014 19:45:44 +0200
Subject: BIG CASH AMOUNT OF MONEY DISCOVERED

Hello Friend,

I am SGT. Josh Howard, an officer of the U.S Army. Presently in Afghanistan for peace keeping.

I have 2 valuable boxes which I want to ship out of Afghanistan for safekeeping.

Can you help me receive the 2 boxes and keep it safe for me, pending my arrival to your designation? If you can, there will be benefits, please contact me urgently for the shipment to take place directly to you.

If you cannot help t actualized this deal, please delete this message.

Thanks.

SGT. Josh Howard
US-ARMY

Anti-fraud resources: