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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: patsantos@yeah.net
Date: Tue, 18 Aug 2015 09:59:06 +0000
Subject: Mrs. Patricia Santos

My name is Mrs Patricia Santos Ben,from Texas USA.now in Africa and
currently hospitalized in a private hospital in Benin republic
as a result of brain cancer I’m donating the sum of $8.5 for the work
of God and charity May the good Lord bless you.
I will reveal further details to you as soon as I receive your
positive reply (patsantos@yeah.net) Have a nice day and God be with
you.

Regards,
Mrs. Patricia Santos------------------------------------------
This e-mail was sent using Tiscali Webmail



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