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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: "Mr. Ethan Morrison." (may be fake)
Reply-To: <mrethanmorrison@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 23 Oct 2017 10:08:16 +0100
Subject: Greeting's.!!!

Hello.! I'm Mr. Ethan Morrison the director cash processing unit, United Bank For Africa [UBA}. On behalf of the board and management of International Monetary Funds (IMF). In conjunction with Organization of African Unit (O.A.U) has directed our bank to pay you one Million five hundred thousand united state dollars ($1.500, 000.00) in cash through means of diplomatic courier service hand delivery.
 
Take note: Three Thousand United State Dollars (USD$3,000) have been mapped out for all expenses on taxes etc. Kindly reply with your full name, home address and direct phone number for quick delivery. Please reply/direct your email to this email:  mrethanmorrison@gmail.com 
Kind Regards,
Mr. Ethan Morrison.

Anti-fraud resources: