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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: Dima Assaf <dima.assaf21@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 11 Nov 2014 22:15:41 +0000 (UTC)
Subject: PLEASE HELP ME BELOVED FRIEND.


 
 DEAR BELOVED FRIEND,  

PLEASE HELP ME,MY NAME IS MISS,DIMA  ASSAF A DAUGHTER TO ENGINEER,IBRAHIM  ASSAF OF SYRIA,I AM 21 YEARS OLD,I LOST MY PARENTS IN RECENT WAR IN MY COUNTRY,RIGHT NOW I AM IN BUDUBUG REFUGEE CAMP GHANA UNDER UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSION FOR REFUGEE. 

PLEASE SAVE ME MY LIFE IS IN DANGER I NEED YOUR HELP IN TRANSFERRING MY INHERITANCE MY PARENTS LEFT BEHIND FOR ME IN THE BANK HERE IN GHANA. 

THE INHERITANCE PROPERTIES ARE 5,5MILLION US DOLLAR AND OTHER VALUABLE ITEMS LIKE GOLD DUST AND PRECIOUS METALS SEALED IN A BOX DEPOSITED IN A BANK HERE.I HAVE EVERY DOCUMENT FOR THE CLAIM ALL I NEED IS A FOREIGNER WHO WILL STAND AS THE FOREIGN PARTNER TO MY FATHER AND BENEFICIARY OF THE ITEMS.        

I SEEK YOUR HELP WITH TRUST,I JUST NEED THIS FUND TO BE TRANSFER TO YOUR BANK ACCOUNT  SO THAT I CAN COME OVER TO YOUR COUNTRY AND COMPLETE MY EDUCATION AND START A NEW LIFE,AS YOU KNOW MY COUNTRY HAVE BEEN IN A DEEP CRISIS DUE TO THE WAR I CANNOT GO BACK THERE AGAIN BECAUSE I HAVE NOBODY AGAIN ALL OF MY FAMILY WERE KILLED IN THE WAR. 

UPON YOUR REPLY I WILL GIVE YOU MORE DETAILS ON HOW TO PROCEED FOR THE TRANSFERRING AM WAITING FOR YOUR REPLY. 

MY BEST REGARD. 
YOURS SINCERELY 
 DIMA HAMED.

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