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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: "Stanley" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <bar_rosenzweig@myway.com>
Date: Fri, 8 Aug 2014 18:29:46 -0700
Subject: please respond for details

Beloved,
I am writing you based on your last name which is the same with my late client.
I am happy to meet you after a very long search that yielded nothing.
A client of mine with the same last name with you died here in Spain in 2010 and as his lawyer, his bank here wants me to provide any of his family members or relatives.
please confirm that you know this man as i have a confidential matter to discuss with you based on his deposit here before he died.
Even if you do not know or related to him, we can still work out things here since both of you are sharing the same last name.
i will be happy to hear from you via my private email address: bar_rosenzweig@mynet.com or call me directly on :+34 881 254 032
thanks,
Bar. Stanley Rosenzweig

Anti-fraud resources: