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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: "Mr. Hyo Keun Lee" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <hyolee39@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, 8 Aug 2015 03:58:59 -0400
Subject: Business assistance

Dear Sir/Madam
I am Mr. Hyo Keun Lee citizen of South Korea. A resident of Syria due to the present political unrest and instability in Syria affecting foreign investors. I decided to relocate to your country. I got your contacts through my personal research and out of desperation. I deal on crude oil I decided to reach you through this medium.
I have US$56,000.000 (fifty Six Million United States Dollars) for investment purpose. I want you to receive this fund on my behalf and invest on a profitable business venture on an agreed terms. If you are interested I will offer you 25% of US$56,000.000Million United States Dollars. please get back to me as soon as possible through my private email address:(hyolee39@gmail.com) for us to discuss further.
The business transaction must be kept top secret for security reasons.
Sincerely,
Mr. Hyo Keun Lee

Anti-fraud resources: