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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: "Patrick Walker" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <kelvin.smith1975@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 5 Sep 2017 00:19:58 -0700
Subject: 34.227.245.138

DEAR FRIEND,

COMPLIMENTS OF THE DAY AND GOD'S BLESSINGS, I AM GLAD TO INFORM YOU THAT I HAVE SUCCESSFULLY CONCLUDED THE TRANSACTION,THE MONEY TRANSFERRED TO LONDON . IT IS DONE THROUGH THE ASSISTANT OF YOUR COUNTRY MAN MR.HOWARD FERRARO WHO IS A LONDON BASE BUSINESS MAN THE TOTAL SUM OF $95.5 MILLION WAS SUCCESSFULLY TRANSFERRED INTO MR.HOWARD FERRARO'S BANK ACCOUNT. CURRENTLY I AM IN LONDON WITH HIM,MY WIFE AND CHILDREN.

HOWEVER,I DID NOT FORGET YOU BECAUSE YOU ARE THE SOURCE OF MY SUCCESS,YOU MADE ME WHAT I AM NOW THOUGH YOU ARE NOT THERE TO COMPLETE THIS PROJECT WITH ME BUT I GAVE ALL THE CREDIT AND THANKS TO YOU.I KNOW IT IS NOT YOUR FAULT OR RATHER YOUR WISH TO BACK OFF ON ME IN THE TRANSACTION,I UNDERSTAND IT WAS SIMPLY BECAUSE OF WHAT YOU MUST HAVE HEARD ABOUT MY COUNTRY AND HER BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES. ACTUALLY THERE ARE STILL GOOD ONES FOR EXAMPLE MYSELF.IN APPRECIATE OF YOUR ASSISTANCE I HAVE MAPPED OUT AS A COMPENSATION AND WROTE ON YOUR FAVOR A DRAFT WORTH OF EIGHT HUNDRED AND FIFTY THOUSAND UNITED STATES DOLLARS ONLY(USD$850,000.00). I LEFT THE DRAFT WITH MY SECRETARY MR.KELVIN SMITH ON MY DEPARTURE TO LONDON.I WOULD LIKE YOU THEREFORE,TO CONTACT HIM ON THE BELOW INFORMATION

SO THAT HE CAN RELEASE THE CHECK TO YOU.

NAME/ MR.Kelvin Smith
EMAIL/kelvin.smith1975@gmail.com
TEL+2347063320243
KINDLY SEND TO HIM YOUR INFORMATION AS LISTED BELOW;
YOUR FULL NAME.........
YOUR ADDRESS.............
YOUR OCCUPATION.........
YOUR AGE.........
YOUR SEX...............
YOUR COUNTRY
YOUR DETECT TEL NO.......
YOUR MOBILE PHONE NO.......


I WOULD HAVE LOVE TO CALL YOU FROM LONDON WHERE I CURRENTLY RESIDE BUT DUE TO THE RECENT TERRORIST ATTACK MR. FERRARO ADVICE ME NOT TO CALL BECAUSE ALL INTERNATIONAL CALLS ARE BEING MONITORED BY THE UK AUTHORITY. CONTACT MR.SAMUEL DOM SO THAT HE CAN RELEASE YOUR DRAFT TO YOU. I WILL STOP HERE.

ONCE AGAIN, THANK YOU VERY MUCH AND REMAIN BLESSED.

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