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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: "Greg Ovie" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <bizproject@hotmail.com>
Date: Fri, 14 Jul 2017 18:35:19 -0700
Subject: HELLO

Dear Sir,

I am Mr. Greg Ovie, a manager in a vault company in South Africa. I have a business proposal that I hope will be of great interest to you. It has to do with the valuables (money) of a deceased client and I am soliciting your collaboration as a foreigner in laying claims to the estate. Please do get back to me asap for further details as I implore you not to treat this message with levity.

Regards,

Greg.

PLS. RESPOND TO: bizproject@hotmail.com

Anti-fraud resources: