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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: "Ian Reed" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <ianreed442@yahoo.com>
Date: Tue, 5 Sep 2017 22:16:03 +0200
Subject: Please i need your assistance urgently

Good day and how are you?
 
I know really that this message will come to you as a surprise but please permit me to introduce myself to you because i am seriously in need of your assistance. My name is Ian Reed from Damascus, Syria. My family is under the threat of President Bashar Al-Assad for our resolute support for a true democratic Government in Syria. Due to the current President Bashar Al-Assad protest in the country, we in Syria are going through hell. Many families are running for their dear lives as soldiers are killing civilians, women and children and we all wish to flee from here to a better place until things get better.
 
I am an industrialist here in Syria and i have been affected by the war and all i have now is my three daughters. My children deserve a better life and i want them to grow up in a peaceful environment. Presently we are here in the refugee camp because my house and industry were burnt down by rebels. My father was a great oil merchant before this war began and he died as a result of air strikes in Damascus. He left some money in his bank account in Europe before he died as a result of NATO bomb and Chemical weapon. I inherited this money from my Father and it is my LIFE! because it is all i have right now. I will not be able to repatriate the money to Syria because of the situation of things here. I want to start up a new life outside Syria. I want you to receive the money as my late Father's business partner / representative and help me invest in a lucrative business in your country. The total fund is $17.5 Million. Kindly let me know if you can do this for me and i will give you a certain percentage of my m
Please i need your soonest response so that i can give you more details.
 
Kind regards,
Ian Reed

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