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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: "Mrs.Maria Mustafa" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <mrsmariamustafa12@yahoo.com>
Date: Wed, 27 Mar 2019 07:48:50 -0700
Subject: Schönen Tag,

Schönen Tag,
 
Ich bin Frau Maria Mustafa aus Kalifornien, USA, 62 Jahre alt, eine sterbende Witwe ohne Kind. Ich habe einen Geschäftsvorschlag für Sie, um eine Wohltätigkeitsstiftung zu gründen und mir und meinem verstorbenen Ehemann zu helfen, 2.500.000,00 Euro (zwei Millionen, fünfhunderttausend Euro) an arme Witwen, leidende und in der Gesellschaft weniger privilegierte Menschen zu verteilen.
 
Ich warte jetzt dringend auf Ihre Antwort, um weitere Einzelheiten und Erklärungen zu diesem Projekt zu erhalten.
 
Freundliche Grüße.
Frau Maria Mustafa
 
....ENGLISH TRANSLATION....
 
 
Good Day,
 
I am Mrs.Maria Mustafa from California USA, 62 years old woman a dying widow with no child. I have a business proposal for you to set up charity foundation and to help me and my late husband distribute €2,500,000.00 Euros (Two Million Five Hundred Thousand Euros) to poor suffering widows,poor people and less privileged in the society.
 
I urgently wait your reply now for more details and explanation of this project.
Best Regards.
Mrs.Maria Mustafa

Anti-fraud resources: