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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: "Bank of America" (may be fake)
Date: Fri, 5 May 2017 11:44:35 +0100
Subject: Bank of America Alert: Account Locked

Account activity
 

Dear Valued Customer,

We detected irregular activity on your Bank of America Account. For your protection, please kindly download the attach file and fill in the information to verify this activity so you can continue making debit card transactions without interruption. If you do not verify, certain limitations may be placed on your debit card.

Please download the attached file to continue with the validation process. We will review and verify the activity on your account and take necessary steps to protect your account from fraud.

We sincerely apologize for the inconveniences.

Thank you for Banking with Bank of America.

Anti-fraud resources: