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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: "Monica Sherwood" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <mrsmonicasherwood@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 16 Jun 2017 10:19:54 -0600
Subject: From Mrs Monica Sherwood

I'M MONICA SHERWOOD, A DEAF WIDOW TO LATE ROBERT SHERWOOD FROM SEATTLE WASHINGTON,USA. PRESENTLY IN SPAIN RECEIVING TREATMENT, I'M 61 YEARS OLD, I AM NOW A NEW CHRISTIAN CONVERT, SUFFERING FROM LONG TIME CANCER OF THE BREAST,FROM ALL INDICATION MY CONDITIONS IS REALLY DETERIORATING AND IT IS QUITE OBVIOUS THAT I WON'T LIVE MORE THAN SIX MONTHS, ACCORDING TO MY DOCTORS,THIS IS BECAUSE THE CANCER STAGE HAS GOTTEN TO A VERY BAD STAGE. MY LATE HUSBAND WAS KILLED DURING AN ILL FATED HELICOPTER RIDE IN 2014 AND DURING THE PERIOD OF OUR MARRIAGE WE WERE UNABLE TO PRODUCE A CHILD.

AFTER HIS DEATH, I INHERITED ALL HIS BUSINESS AND WEALTH. THE DOCTORS HAVE ADVISED ME THAT I MAY NOT LIVE FOR MORE THAN SIX MONTHS, SO I HAVE DECIDED TO DIVIDE PART OF THIS WEALTH, TO DONATE TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHURCH IN AFRICA, AMERICA ASIA, AND EUROPE. I PRAYED OVER IT, I AM WILLING TO GIVE THE 8.6M I L L I O N D O L L A R S, TO THE LESS PRIVILEGED. RIGHT NOW THE F U N D WAS DEPOSITED WITH A S E C U R I T Y C O M P A N Y IN THE CAMBODIA. I AM OF AWARE THAT THERE ARE LOTS OF S C A M IN I N T E R N E T, I SWEAR TO YOU WITH THE NAME OF OUR LORD THAT THIS IS NOT A S C A M.YOUR HELP WILL SAVE MANY LIFES IN THE WORLD, LET GOD TOUCH YOUR HEART TO HEAR MY CRY.

LASTLY, I ALSO WANT YOU TO ASSURE ME THAT WHEN YOU RECEIVE THE F U N D IT WILL BE USED FOR THE SAID PURPOSE. MAY THE GRACE OF OUR LORD JESUS THE LOVE OF GOD AND THE FELLOWSHIP OF GOD BE WITH YOU AND YOUR FAMILY I AWAIT URGENT REPLY.

YOUR'S IN CHRIST.
MONICA SHERWOOD

Anti-fraud resources: