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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: " STUART SYMINGTON." (may be fake)
Reply-To: <stuartsymingtonxx@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2017 03:57:03 -0800
Subject: Re: &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; GOOD NEWS.</DIV>..............3zsp

GOOD NEWS.
        I SHALL BE COMING TO YOUR COUNTRY FOR AN OFFICIAL MEETING BY
        NEXT WEEK AND
        I WILL BE BRINGING YOUR INTEREST PAYMENT OF US$1M ALONG WITH ME BUT THIS
        TIME I WILL NOT GO THROUGH CUSTOMS BECAUSE AS A US AMBASSADOR
             TO NIGERIA,
        I AM A US GOVERNMENT AGENT AND I HAVE THE VETO POWER TO GO THROUGH
        CUSTOMS.I AM SCHEDULED TO HAVE A BRIEFING WITH THE SECRETARY
             OF STATES BY
        NEXT WEEK.
        YOU SHOULD SEND YOUR CELL PHONE NUMBER AND THE ADDRESS WHERE YOU WANT ME
        TO BRING THE CONSIGNMENT PACKAGE . YOU HAVE REALLY PAID SO MUCH AS I WAS
        MADE TO UNDERSTAND AND THAT IS WHY I HAVE PERSONALLY
     INTERVENED . YOU ARE
        A VERY LUCKY PERSON BECAUSE I SHALL BE BRINGING IT MYSELF AND THERE IS
        NOTHING ANYONE CAN DO ABOUT IT.
        YOUR PACKAGE(US$1Million} MUST BE REGISTERED AS AN AMBASSADORIAL PACKAGE
        FOR ME TO DEFEAT ALL ODDS AND THE COST OF REGISTERING IT IS $200.
        THE FEE MUST BE PAID IN THE NEXT 50 HOURS VIA WESTERN UNION/MONEYGRAM SO
        THAT ALL NECESSARY ARRANGEMENT CAN BE MADE BEFORE TIME WILL BE AGAINST
        US.YOU SHOULD SEND THE FEE DIRECTLY TO THE CARGO REGISTRATION
       OFFICER WITH
        THE INFO BELOW
        NAME :MORDI UCHE.
        COUNTRY:LAGOS-NIGERIA
        TEST QUESTION: TRUE
        ANSWER: YES
        AS SOON AS THE FEE IS SENT FORWARD TO ME THE FOLLOWING
    INFORMATION BELLOW:
        SENDERS NAME:
        MTCN NUMBER:
        SENDER ADDRESS:
        MY TRIP WILL BE BY MID NEXT WEEK AND I EXPECT YOU TO COMPLY
           BEFORE THEN SO
        THAT THE DELIVERY CAN BE COMPLETED.
        TREAT AS URGENT,
        STUART SYMINGTON.
        US AMBASSADOR TO NIGERIA

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