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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: poyser2221@gmail.com
Date: Sat, 10 Jan 2015 14:53:38 +0100
Subject: Dear Beneficiary,

Dear Beneficiary,

Be informed that the British Bankers Association (BBA) has
approved your
payment of US$50,000,000.00.

You are advised to get back to us with your banking and
personal details so
that we will instruct the paying bank in USA to release your
payment to you.

Confirm the receipt of this email to enable include your
payment file to our
payment list that will be forwarded to the paying bank in
USA (Citibank
Arlington Texas).

Regards,

David Poyser
Executive Director, Foreign Operations
British Bankers Association (BBA)

Anti-fraud resources: