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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: "Yahoo! Asia" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <miss.elizabethwalker@yahoo.com.tw>
Date: Mon, 17 Aug 2015 01:57:03 +0800
Subject: Result No: 25042014

Yahoo! Asia
Lotto No.8429204320
Official Notification.

[We wish to bring to your Kind attention that your
E-mail account
has Won ($5,000,000) in the May2015 Yahoo! Draws.]

To claim your winnings, Please contact Our agent through the
Email below:

Miss Elizabeth Walker
[Official Claims Director.]
Yahoo! Promotions
Asian Regional Sector
E-mail: miss.elizabethwalker@yahoo.com.tw

You are to establish contact with the Following Informations:

Name
Residential/Office Address
Telephone
Fax Number
Age
Sex

Thanks & Regards.
Yahoo Asia Team.

Anti-fraud resources: