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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: "MICROSOFT PROMOTIONAL DONATION" <msn.donation@win.com>
Reply-To: msn.donation@hotmail.com
Date: Sun, 12 Jul 2015 12:21:35 -0500 (EST)
Subject: CONGRATULATIONS!!!




Congratulations!!! you have won {£1,000.000.00 GBP} One million Great
Britain Pounds from our Microsoft 2015 Promotion, Send a reply to us for
details.
Jacob Anderson
E-mail: msn.donation@hotmail.com


-----------------------------------------
This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. Please note that any views or opinions presented in this email are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the Ministry of Finance. Finally, the recipient should check this email and any attachments for the presence of viruses. The Ministry accepts no liability for any damage caused by any virus transmitted by this email

Anti-fraud resources: