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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: Benson Adou <dwiniethy@gmail.com>
Reply-To: drbensonaduo@gmail.com
Date: Mon, 25 Aug 2014 19:04:15 +0200
Subject: Hello

Hello,

I am Mr. Benson Adou, Staff of a Bank in Ghana. Indicate your interest
to receive the transfer of (US$8.Eight Million Dollars) 50% for me and
50% for you.
You will stand as the Next of Kin to our late customer whose account
is currently dormant,
I advise you to keep this as a "top secret" as I am still in service
and intend to retire from service after I conclude this deal with you.
If you accept my offer I will need the following information below to
commence the process.

YOUR FULL NAME:
NATIONALITY:
CONTACT PHONE N°:
ADDRESS:

Kindly reply me as soon as possible.

Yours faithfully

Dr. Benson Adou.

Anti-fraud resources: