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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: "Marcus Marijke" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <marcusmarijke1@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 12 Dec 2016 04:26:26 -0800
Subject: Hello




Hello,
I am 89 years old. I live at the government aged home and taken care of by social workers. I have hearing problem and my speech is not too good, hence I decided to contact you via this medium. I wish to notify you again that you were listed as a beneficiary of fund (amount withheld for security reasons until I receive a letter of intention from you to receive this fund) in a bank in the intent of the deceased (name now withheld since this is my second letter to you).
In my first email I mentioned about my late neighbor/friend died at the age of 90 years. The relatives I cannot get in touch and he has some huge amount of money domiciled in a bank. I am contacting you because you have the same surname identity with this my friend and therefore I can present you as the beneficiary to the fund since there is a mandate written by friend with the bank, that in an event of his death anybody with the same surname identity through blood or married to anyone with the same surname should claim the fund. Before his death he gave me information about the money he has in the bank and the account number and instructed that in an event of his death I should search for anyone that has the same surname identity with him to contact his bank as that is what he wrote in the mandate form of the bank whilst opening an account that his next of kin is anyone with the same surname identity.
I am compelled to do this because I would not want the bank to push my friend’s fund into the bank treasury as unclaimed inheritance or use it for other purposes.
I will send you the information of his bank to contact as soon as receive a positive acknowledgment from you which also serves as acceptance to proceed to receive this fund in your account.

Yours faithfully,


Marcus Marijke.

Anti-fraud resources: