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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: Jeo Smith <jeosmith3@jeosmith.my.vg>
Reply-To: <jeosmit@hotmail.com>
Date: Sun, 13 Mar 2016 21:10:19 +0100
Subject: We Need To Talk Pls.

Hello,
Please pardon me for no prior notice, l am Jeo Smith, a Financial Consultant and friend to a Foreigner who died in Dec 26, 2013 that shared same surname with you.
I am contacting you to assist retrieve this amount that he reserved in Bank prior to his death. Would you be interested to partake in the deal? I will be pleased to advise more on the next step to take upon your willingness to assist.
Best regards,
Jeo Smith
Tell: +229 99417669

Anti-fraud resources: