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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: "Roy Peterson" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <roypeterson116@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 15 Jan 2015 07:55:18 +0200
Subject: timely

My Dear.

I'm a widower who is suffering from long illness (Sadly, Cancer). I need an honest and God fearing person that can use my funds for the lord's work. I'm writing to you in the hope of seeking your expert assistance. I took this decision because I don't have any next of kins or family that will inherit my money and I don't want a situation where this money will be used in an ungodly way, heaven forbid!!! That is why I am taking this decision, my doctor has confirmed to me that I have less than three weeks to live, realistically probably only 15-20 days max! Therefore, having known my condition I decided to donate this fund to a charity or a complete stranger (persons or family) that will utilize this money to assist the poor and the needy in accordance to my instructions. Please Kindly Reply

Anti-fraud resources: