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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: "John" <gvernon8044@yahoo.pt>
Reply-To: mustali@dishmail.net
Date: Mon, 23 Feb 2015 18:36:13 -0500
Subject: From John

I am a white Zimbabwean farmer, currently in hiding. I have funds US$10.5M to invest, I am contacting you as the need for me to have a foreign partner has become necessary due to my plans to relocate and start farming all over again. If you are interested and willing to assist me for 20% commission, please contact me for more details.

You can click on the links below to get a better understanding of my situation and why I need your assistance: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/1068528.stm

Best Regards,
John.

Anti-fraud resources: