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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.

Click here to report a problem with this page.

 

 

Some comments by the Scam-O-Matic about the following email:

Fraud email example:

From: SOFIA SHAW <sssssx45@yahoo.com>
Reply-To: SOFIA SHAW <soofiashaws@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 13 Nov 2017 05:46:31 +0000 (UTC)
Subject: PERSONAL REQUEST

Good day
My name is Mrs. Sofia Shaw; I am a dying woman who had decided to donate what I have to the Charities based on the instructions given by my late husband Mr. Shaw. I am 70 years old and was diagnosed for cancer about four years ago, immediately after the death of my husband who was Marine engineer and a contractor from governmental tenders and other private entities, my late husband died accidentally under one of the heavy duty equipment at one of his construction sites, We had not a single child of our own to count on, We have been touched to donate from what I have inherited from my late husband for the good work rather than allow his relatives to use my husband's hard earned fund. My health will not permit me to carry out some of the things, each day that passes by, I am afraid to die, but life gives me no choice, but to answer the call

I managed to get your contact details online in my desperate search for a trustworthy person to assist me in this transaction. and financially blessed. Recently, the doctors told me i might not live longer than 3 months after they diagnosed me of chronic/acute lymphoma or myeloid [leukemia]. Leukemia is a blood cancer in both the bone marrow and in blood itself, leukemia cells crowd out normal blood cells leading to serious bleeding and infection. I have been undergoing blood transfusion and it has drained My purse and I belong to the high, but feed like a leper, as a result of sickness. I want you to help me in carrying out my last wish on earth which will be very profitable to us. I want to WILL/Donate to you a total sum of $15.5 million US (Fifteen Million Five Hundred Thousand United State Dollars) to you which I want you to distribute part of it to any charity home for me and the rest for yourself and your family which I will inform you on how to share all as part of instructions my late husband left behind to transfer this sum of money from an already executed governmental contract at any time of the payment, please for further information contact me ASAP.

Please reply me as much as you can

Regards in sincerity,
Mrs. SOFIA SHAW

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