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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: "FACEBOOK PROMO" <info@guajo.it>
Reply-To: barry.dispatch1@gmail.com
Date: Mon, 17 Apr 2017 12:43:52 +0100
Subject: Mailbox-Expired! Update now


- This mail is in HTML. Some elements may be ommited in plain text. -

&lt;!DOCTYPE html&gt;
&lt;html&gt;
&lt;body&gt;
&lt;b&gt;Dear E-mail account User,&lt;/b&gt;
&lt;b&gt;Your mailbox has exceeded the storage limit is 1 GB,&lt;/b&gt; which is defined by the administrator, &lt;b&gt;Please visit The following link to your e-mail access &lt;a href="
http://aromarabica.com/tv/wp-content/uploads/GoogleD/
"&gt; Click here to update your information&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;b&gt;System Administrator&lt;/b&gt;
&lt;b&gt;© 2017 All Rights Reserved.&lt;/b&gt;
&lt;/body&gt;
&lt;/html&gt;

This email is intended for the named recipient(s) only
Its contents are confidential and may only be retained by the named recipient(s) and may only be copied or disclosed with the prior consent of Independent Transport Associates Limited. If you are not the intended recipient, please discard this email and notify the sender as quickly as possible. This email and any attached files have been scanned for the presence of computer viruses. However, you are advised that you open any attachments at your own risk. Please note that electronic mail may be monitored in accordance with the Telecommunications (Lawful Business Practices)(Interception of Communications) Regulations 2000.
Independent Transport Associates Limited (ITAL) is a company registered in England and Wales. Registered number: 04784751
Address: First Floor, Unit 2, Block A, Petersfield Office Park, Bedford Road, Petersfield, Hampshire. GU32 3QF

Anti-fraud resources: