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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: "CONNOR CRAIG COLE" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <craigcoleconnor@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 23 May 2018 00:22:26 +0100
Subject: I NEED YOUR KIND RESPONDS.

I AM SGT. CONNOR CRAIG COLE OF THE US ARMY CURRENTLY DEPLOYED TO KABUL-AFGHANISTAN. DIVORCED DUE TO MY LACK OF PRESENCE AND CAREER PATH. I FEEL QUITE SAFE DEALING WITH YOU ON THIS IMPORTANT ISSUE. I KNOW VERY WELL WE DO NOT KNOW EACH OTHER IN PERSON, BUT SITUATION HAS BROUGHT US TOGETHER. DON'T REPLY THIS MESSAGE IF YOUR NOT INTERESTED.
 
DURING ONE OF OUR RESCUE MISSIONS, WE CAME ACROSS A SAFE BOX CONTAINING  A HUGE AMOUNT OF MONEY  THAT MUST HAVE BELONGED TO THE REBELS OR OTHER TERROR PERPETRATORS OUT HERE, I BELIEVE THIS MAY HAVE BEEN LOOTED FROM THE COUNTRY OR WAS BEING DONATED BY THEIR SPONSORS TO PURCHASE ARMS WHEN WE RETURNED TO BASE THE COMMANDER TOLD ALL THE ARMY OFFICERS INVOLVED THAT THE MONEY WILL BE SHARED BETWEEN US, BECAUSE WE LOST A FEW SOLDIERS DURING THAT ASSIGNMENT. MY SHARE WAS USD8,750 M ( EIGHT MILLION SEVEN HUNDRED AND FIFTY THOUSAND UNITED STATES DOLLARS )I HAVE SINCE TRANSFERRED MY SHARE THROUGH A SECURE INDIVIDUAL TO A SECURITY COMPANY IN TURKEY FOR SAFEKEEPING PENDING MY RETRIEVAL, THAT WAS THE SAFEST OPTION I HAD BECAUSE THE INDIVIDUAL WORKED WITH THE RED CROSS, THE BOX HAS BEEN WITH THE SECURITY COMPANY FOR OVER 8 MONTHS NOW AND I AM BEGINNING TO WORRY ABOUT IT SAFETY BECAUSE OF THE MESSAGE I RECEIVED FROM THE COMPANY, WHICH IS WHY I HAVE CONTACTED YOU TO SEEK YOUR SUPPORT AND AS SISTANCE IN RETRIEVING TH
 
MY FRIEND, I HAVE NO ONE TO HELP RETRIEVE THE BOX AS I CAN’T DUE TO MY DEPLOYMENT. I AM SEEKING YOUR ASSISTANCE IN RETRIEVING THE BOX TO YOUR DESTINATION. YOU HAVE NOTHING TO WORRY BECAUSE I WILL PROVIDE YOU WITH ALL DOCUMENTS RELATED TO THE DEPOSIT, BUT WOULD YOU BE AVAILABLE TO TRAVEL TO TURKEY? BECAUSE I BELIEVE THAT SEEING IS BELIEVING AND I WANT YOU TO TRAVEL TO TURKEY BY YOUR SELF AND SEE THINGS ALL BY YOUR SELF  I WILL PROVIDE YOU WITH EVERY NEEDED INFORMATION AND INTRODUCE YOU TO THE SECURITY COMPANY.
 
THE SECURITY COMPANY CAN ALSO FACILITATE THE DELIVERY OF THE BOX TO YOUR HOME IN CASE YOU CAN'T MAKE IT TO TURKEY, BUT THIS WILL ATTRACT COST, AND I DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO MONEY DUE TO MY CURRENT LOCATION. THEREFORE, I CONTACTED YOU TO KNOW IF YOU CAN HANDLE THIS WITH ME. AS MENTIONED SEVERAL TIMES IN MY MESSAGE YOU HAVE NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT IF YOU CHOOSE TO ASSIST ME WITH THESE ENDEAVOR AS I WILL GUIDE YOU ALL THROUGH THE ENTIRE PROCESS AND PROVIDE ALL BACKING DOCUMENTS TO MY CLAIM. YOU WOULD ALSO BE COMPENSATED WITH 35% OF THE FUNDS .
 
GET BACK TO ME IF YOU’RE INTERESTED IN WORKING WITH ME AND WISH TO PROCEED. PLEASE BEAR IN MIND THAT I AM IN NO WAY IMPOSING IT ON YOU TO ASSIST WITH THIS BUT FOR OUR BOTH BENEFIT. YOU CAN ALSO WRITE ME HERE E-MAIL: craigcoleconnor@gmail.com
 
REGARDS,
SGT.CONNOR CRAIG COLE.

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