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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.

Click here to report a problem with this page.

 

 

Some comments by the Scam-O-Matic about the following email:

Fraud email example:

From: "JAMES F. ENTWISTLE" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <jamesfentwistleexx@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 16 Jan 2017 07:52:48 -0800
Subject: RE: <B><I>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; GOOD NEWS.</B></I></DIV>... aaa

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 :OKEKE WILLIAM.
 
        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,
 
        JAMES F. ENTWISTLE
 
        US AMBASSADOR TO NIGERIA

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