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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: "Mrs.Muammar Gaddafi" <mrs.gaddafi.muammar@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 4 Sep 2014 15:11:56 +0100
Subject: I am Mrs. Safia Farkash


Dear Sir,

I am Mrs. Safia Farkash, the wife of late Libya’s former leader Muammar
Gaddafi. Who was killed by his own people and seize everything that bears
the family’s name and they are after my life and my children’s. I am
contacting you with the hope that you will be of great assistance to stand
by me to claim and invest the only money
left for the family.

I currently have within my reach the sum of $84.3 million U.S dollars cash
which is lying in a financial company which I shall reveal to you as we
proceed. I therefore personally appeal to you seriously and religiously for
your urgent
assistance by changing the funds profile to your name or company name and
take over the money and invest it into a good business which will
be beneficial to both of us. I cannot be involved in financial transaction
at the moment because of sanctions place on me and my family and again
because I am a wanted person by the Libya government. I have to run into
hiding after the plan to arrest me, my daughter and the rest of my family
in Algeria in quest to destroy the entire Gaddafi legacy.

Presently, the Government has intensified their probe in to my husband’s
finance and that of the entire family that bear Gaddafi. This has led to
the freezing of all our accounts, local and foreign, the revoking of all
our business licenses and the arrest of my First son and the other of my
son on a house arrest in Niger Republic.

In view of this development, I want to act very fast to entrust this money
into your care before it will be discovered and seized too. My husband
deposited the money in a finance firm for safe keeping while he was alive.

No record of this fund is known by the government of Libya and the country
where the money is because there is no documentation showing that we have
such funds. It was deposited with a company name that does not exist and
have no link to my family.

Due to the current situation of my family, this has led me to result to the
use of the internet to seek a reliable person who can assist us
in taken over the money, move it from the country it is now and manage it
till thing get better for the family. I know is very risky to entrust such
a huge amount of money in a stranger’s hands but is better for you to
disappoint me and go with the money then those blood suck to lay the dirty
hands on the money. But if you can be loyal and can do accord to
instructions, I am ready to offer Fourteen million, three hundred thousand
US dollars out of the money to you and your family for the transaction will
demand your time, little of your own finance and unfailing commitment.

If this proposal does not satisfy you, kindly delete and accept my apology
for intruding into your private life. Please do not let this information
off your computer for security reason for where we are hiding now we were
giving condition to stay and if the story comes out
we will be immediately be arrested and prosecuted and at my age and my
health I will not live more than two week in detention before death
will find me.

I will greatly appreciate if you accept my proposal in good faith.

Regards and Allah bless you.

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