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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: "daniel@officialgreward.co.uk" (may be fake)
Reply-To: < paymentunit@officialgpaymentoffice.asia>
Date: Tue, 25 Apr 2017 16:58:44 +0700
Subject: OFFICIAL WINNING NOTIFICATION

Dear SIR/MADAM
We wish to congratulate you over your success in the official publication of results of the E-mail electronic online sweepstake organized by Google Inc., in conjunction with Visaฎ/MasterCardฎ International and confirmed by our co-sponsors the Foundation for the Promotion of Software Products (F.P.S.P). Over the years Google earns its’ profit mainly from advertising using their very own Google search engine, Gmail and all MALAYSIA e-mail services, Google Maps, Google Apps, Orkut social networking and You Tube video sharing, which are all offered to the public for free.
Due to your active use of Google services, you have been selected as one of the Ten (10) winners in the ongoing E- mail Electronic Online Sweepstakes. Hence we believe with your prize, you will continue to be active in your patronage to Google and its Products, we wish to inform you that you are entitled to ฃ950,000.00 GBP {Nine Hundred and Fifty Thousand British Pounds}. A Bank Draft will be issued in your name by our Foreign Payment Bureau and also a Certificate of prize claim will be processed alongside your Bank Draft. All Payments will be made to you through our accredited paying bank (ELECTRONIC SWIFT TRANSFER) to your bank account in your country without you coming down to United Kingdom.
Your prize will be transferred to you upon meeting the requirements of the British Lottery Commission which includes your statutory obligations. You are advised to contact our Foreign Payment Bureau with the details below:
PAYMENT CLAIMS FORM
1) Your Full Names:
2) Your Contact Address:
3) Your Country/Nationality:
4) Your Telephone/Mobile Number(s):
5) Occupation:
6) Age/Gender:
7) Private Email Address (OPTIONAL):
8) Ever Won An Online Lottery?
Google values your right to privacy! Your information is 100% secured and will be used exclusively for the purpose of this award only.
Send all response via email to our Foreign Payment Bureau officer below:
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
Name: Daniel William
Senior Vice President and Chief Legal
Email:  paymentunit@officialgpaymentoffice.asia
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
NOTE!!! For security reasons, you are advised to keep your winning information confidential till your claims are processed and your winning prize remitted to you through our accredited paying bank. This is part of our precautionary measure to avoid double claims and unwarranted abuse of this program please be WARNED!!!!

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