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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: "MERCY THOMAS" <p.belli@psicologodellavoro.it>
Reply-To: <mercythomas@e-mail.ua>
Date: Fri, 12 Dec 2014 05:14:01 -0800
Subject: Re: Your package is ready for delivery

 
I am MERCY THOMAS , a senior officer at John F. Kennedy (JFK) International Airport
I have contacted you regarding an abandoned diplomatic consignment box and the x-ray scan report box revealed some
US dollar bill in it which could be approximately 23.3million dollars and the official paperof the box indicates your contact details. To
confirm you as the authentic beneficiary, do send me your full name, your home
address,your mobile tel number and the nearest airport close  to you.
 
For your information, the box was abandoned by the diplomat who was on transit to your city because he was not able to
pay the ATL clearance fee of 780 DOLLARS i have taken it upon myself to contact you personally about
 
this abandoned box so that we can transact this as a deal and share the total money 70% for you and 30% for me.
As soon as I get the requested detail from you for verification,
 
I will pay the clearance fee and make arrangement for the box to be delivered to you which can be concluded within 4-
6hours after confirmation is made and upon your acceptance and willingness to co-operate.
 
All communication  must be held extremely confidential to ensure a successful delivery. Send your response to my
private email address ( mercythomas@e-mail.ua ). I will be waiting to receive your information in order for us
 
to proceed.
 
Best Regards
MERCY THOMAS

Anti-fraud resources: