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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: "Administrator Server" <INFO@LEE.COM>
Date: Tue, 6 Feb 2018 09:40:23 +0100
Subject: Last Warning Revalidation Require For Your Email!!!


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<h3><span style="font-size:48px;"><span style="color:#cc3333;"><span style="font-family: calibri;">Re-validate Your Mail-server!</span></span></span></h3>
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</table>

<table bgcolor="#FFFFFF" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);" width="644">
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<td bgcolor="#d5d8dc" width="1"><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://img.ui-portal.de/p.gif" style="border: 0px solid; display: block;" width="1" /></td>
<td bgcolor="#c4c7ca" width="1"><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://img.ui-portal.de/p.gif" style="border: 0px solid; display: block;" width="1" /></td>
<td width="20"><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://img.ui-portal.de/p.gif" style="border: 0px solid; display: block;" width="20" /></td>
<td>
<p><span style="color:#cc0000;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1517897464371_14937" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px; font-weight: 700; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 30px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Security Notice!</span></span></p>

<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" id="gmail-yui_3_16_0_1_1517897464371_14935" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; word-break: break-word;" width="277">
<tbody id="gmail-yui_3_16_0_1_1517897464371_14934" style="width: 277px;">
<tr id="gmail-yui_3_16_0_1_1517897464371_14950">
<td id="gmail-yui_3_16_0_1_1517897464371_14949" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="times new roman, serif" size="4"><font color="#253550" face="times new roman, serif" id="gmail-yui_3_16_0_1_1517897464371_14948" style="line-height: 24px;">Dear Email Member,</font></font></span></td>
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<tr id="gmail-yui_3_16_0_1_1517897464371_14952">
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</tbody>
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&nbsp;

<div style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><font face="times new roman, serif" size="4"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Our security system detected irregular activity related to your Email Account</span></font>

<div>&nbsp;</div>

<div><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="times new roman, serif" size="4"><font color="#253550" id="gmail-yui_3_16_0_1_1517897464371_14958" style="line-height: 24px;">As a precautionary measure w</font>e recommend that you re-validate your Mail Server within 24hours&nbsp;to avoid Permanent Server De-activation.</font></span></div>

<div>&nbsp;</div>

<div>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="http://hotbodsgear.com/pub/van/index.php?email=FILL IN YOUR EMAIL AND PROCEED"><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 51); font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 22px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Re-validate your Mailbox Now</span></a></div>
</div>
</td>
<td width="20"><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://img.ui-portal.de/p.gif" style="border: 0px solid; display: block;" width="20" /></td>
<td bgcolor="#c4c7ca" width="1"><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://img.ui-portal.de/p.gif" style="border: 0px solid; display: block;" width="1" /></td>
<td bgcolor="#d5d8dc" width="1"><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://img.ui-portal.de/p.gif" style="border: 0px solid; display: block;" width="1" /></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>

<table bgcolor="#FFFFFF" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="644">
<tbody>
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<td bgcolor="#d5d8dc" width="1"><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://img.ui-portal.de/p.gif" style="border: 0px solid; display: block;" width="1" /></td>
<td bgcolor="#c4c7ca" width="1"><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://img.ui-portal.de/p.gif" style="border: 0px solid; display: block;" width="1" /></td>
<td width="20"><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://img.ui-portal.de/p.gif" style="border: 0px solid; display: block;" width="20" /></td>
<td>
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="600">
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<td><font color="#253550" face="Arial,Helvetica,Verdana,sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">To make sure your account is protected, we ask you to follow these steps:</font></td>
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<td height="20">&nbsp;</td>
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<td><font color="#253550" face="Arial,Helvetica,Verdana,sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"><b>1. Check all your computers and mobile devices used to access your account with an up-to-date virus scanner to detect possible malware.</b></font></td>
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<td height="20">&nbsp;</td>
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<td><font color="#253550" face="Arial,Helvetica,Verdana,sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"><b>2. Check whether your personal data, especially your alternative address, has been changed by going to &ldquo;My Account&rdquo; on the &ldquo;Home&rdquo;-page of your account.</b></font></td>
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<td>&nbsp;</td>
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<td><font color="#253550" face="Arial,Helvetica,Verdana,sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Thank you for your cooperation.</font></td>
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<td height="10">&nbsp;</td>
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<td><font color="#253550" face="Arial,Helvetica,Verdana,sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"><strong>Your Email Security Team</strong></font></td>
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<p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font color="#999999" face="Arial,Helvetica,Verdana,sans-serif" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">You are receiving this message from Mail server because you are a valued member. we respects your privacy.</font></p>

<p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font color="#999999" face="Arial,Helvetica,Verdana,sans-serif" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">This is an automatic message. Please do not reply to the sender.</font><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">&copy; 2018. All rights reserved.</span></p>

<div>&nbsp;</div>
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<td width="20"><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://img.ui-portal.de/p.gif" style="border: 0px solid; display: block;" width="20" /></td>
<td bgcolor="#c4c7ca" width="1"><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://img.ui-portal.de/p.gif" style="border: 0px solid; display: block;" width="1" /></td>
<td bgcolor="#d5d8dc" width="1">&nbsp;</td>
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Anti-fraud resources: