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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: Mariam Bassey <mmariam.bassey@yahoo.fr>
Date: Mon, 8 Dec 2014 18:18:59 +0000 (UTC)
Subject: Greetings, from Mrs. Mariam Bassey


Greetings, from Mrs. Mariam Bassey
BP 78 Abidjan 09, Ivory Coast
Abidjan Coted'Ivoire (West Africa)

Hello dear ,
 
I am Mrs. Mariam Bassey, from Abidjan Cote d’Ivoire. May you receive this letter with peace of mind and with due respect as it may be very strange to you since we have not communicate before or knowing each other facially. I have gone through your profile in the internet and believe that you can handle this project effectively but the only question now; can I trust you? 
We want you to help us to invest the money my late husband deposited here before he died in 2011 during the political crisis in my country here the sum of $5.4million dollars (Five Million, four hundred thousand dollars. I am looking for your cooperation in building a Tourist Hotel or Real Estate or to invest into another business you can advise me in your country and also help me to relocate to your country with my two children. We have resolved to give you 30% of the total money, if you can help us in transferring this money to your country. I will give you more information when I hear from you. 
Best Regards
Mrs. Mariam Bassey



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