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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: suechana@guysuco.com
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2017 22:56:24 +0300 (EEST)
Subject: Notice of Policy Updates

Click here to view this message in your browser.
PayPal Credit
Notice of Policy Updates
Dear Customer :

We are making some changes to the PayPal User Agreement that will go into effect on July 27, 2017. If you're interested in learning more, please visit our Policy Updates Page. Updates include:
  • We are adding terms for a new faster withdrawal option. If your debit card is eligible to receive faster withdrawals from your PayPal account, you will be provided the option to use it when you transfer money out of your PayPal balance. The transfer will be subject to a $0.25 fee, which will be deducted from the amount of the withdrawal.
  • We're advising sellers that they may receive payments through their PayPal Account from customers using their Venmo account and that the payments will be subject to Venmo's purchase protection program (which is similar to PayPal's purchase protection program).
  • We're updating the "Payment Methods Used" section to clarify that, for pre-approved payments, if you have money in your PayPal balance, your PayPal balance will be used first and your preferred payment method will be used for any remaining amount due.
  • We're clarifying our rights that apply when your PayPal account has a negative balance.
These changes are detailed on our Policy Updates Page and will become effective July 27, 2017 for all U.S. customers. We encourage you to review the Policy Update and familiarize yourself with the changes that are being made. If you do not agree to any of these changes, you may close your account before July 27, 2017.

Thank you for being a PayPal customer.

Sincerely,
PayPal
  Please do not reply to this email. We are unable to respond to inquiries sent to this address. For immediate answers to your questions, visit our Help Center by clicking "Help" located on any PayPal page or email.

Copyright © 2017 PayPal, Inc. All rights reserved. PayPal is located at 2211 N. First St., San Jose, CA 95131.
                                                           

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