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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: baja@dataclick.com.ar
Reply-To: ruthmawerer@gmail.com
Date: Fri, 24 Mar 2017 12:51:46 -0700
Subject: Its Ruth


Hallo liebe, Mein Name ist Ruth, ich bin 26yrs alt, ich bin ein freier mind=
ed, offenherzige M=E4dchen, ich bin einer der wenigen, die in Freundschaft,=
Liebe, Vertrauen und Zeichen immer noch glaubt, bin sehr viel Single und b=
ereit zu mischen. ich werde wie dein Freund sein, wenn Sie nichts dagegen h=
aben, ich hoffe, dass Sie meine Bitte nicht f=FCr selbstverst=E4ndlich halt=
en, k=F6nnen Sie mich per E-Mail, ich es zu sch=E4tzen wissen, wenn Sie mir=
ein paar Bilder auf meiner privaten E-Mail senden k=F6nnen, freue ich mich=
bald von Ihnen zu h=F6ren. Hello dear, My name is Ruth, i am 26yrs old, i'=
m a free minded,open hearted girl,i'm one of the few that still believes in=
friendship, love, trust and signs, am very much single and ready to mingle=
. i will like to be your friend if you don't mind, i hope you will not take=
my request for granted,feel free to email me, i will appreciate it if you =
can send me some pics to my private email,i look forward to hear from you s=
oon.=20

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