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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: "Sadiq Gadaffi" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <sadiqgadaffi14@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 23 Oct 2016 23:40:54 +0200
Subject: Please Treat As Utmost Urgency

Hello,

Pardon me for any inconvenience this letter may cost you. I know it may come to you as a surprise as we have no previous correspondence. I got your email while searching for assistance in your country. Are you still reachable at this email? We can actually work together to achieve this highly confidential but very lucrative business deal. For more interesting details about a proposal contact me only on my private email: sadiqgadaffi14@gmail.com

Thanks,
Mr. Sadiq.

Anti-fraud resources: