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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: "National Westminster Bank" (may be fake)
Date: Tue, 2 Jan 2018 13:06:11 +0100
Subject: Important Mail

Dear Customer,

We've detected a numbers of failed log in attempts on your online account. Don't worry, failed log in attempts are generally caused by an incorrect pin or password being used. Maybe you've recently changed your password or pin and forgotten to update it in a mobile device, tablet or laptop that you also use for your online account(s). For your personal security, we'd like you to confirm and update your account personal information. But before you do this we need you to turn off any other device (mobile, tablet or laptop) that you may also use to access your online account(s).

It's possible that your account may have been compromised. For your security, we have temporarily disabled access to your account(s). Such as (Receive payments, Make payments or withdraw funds).

To restore your account access & to continue banking online with us, kindly follow the secure login reference button given below.

Best Regards
NatWest Online Security Alert Team

How does it work?

If we detect either of the reasons above, we may decide that we want to confirm that it's really you. You must complete all steps otherwise you will not be able to use the online service until we have completed additional security checks. Only individuals who have a NatWest account and authorised access to Online Banking should proceed beyond this point. For the security of customers, any unauthorised attempt to access customer bank information will be monitored and may be subject to legal action.

Anti-fraud resources: