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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: "Alex Ikoku" <alexikoku@gmail.com>
Reply-To: barrmarkedward45@gmail.com
Date: Mon, 30 Oct 2017 20:22:51 -0700
Subject: Your Certified Bank Draft

My Dear Good Friend,

I am using this opportunity to thank you for your great effort to our unfinished transaction and transfer of your international bank draft cheque to you from the bank, although i was able to complete this transaction without your help but i still feel like compensating you with $1.5 million dollars for your effort, contact Barr. Mark Edward my lawyer and he will give full details on how to receive a cheque or make arrangement with the paying bank for wire transfer or issuance of an ATM Card.

Name: Barr. Mark Edward
Email: barrmarkedward45@gmail.com

Yours sincerely
Alex Ikoku

Anti-fraud resources: