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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: "Gerald Johnson" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <geraldjjjhhh10@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 1 Jan 2020 05:41:35 -0800
Subject: Please Reply

From: UBS Investment Bank (London)
1 Golden Lane, London.
EC 1Y 0RR, United Kingdom.
The Operations Manager,
Compliment of the season and a happy new year.
Do accept my sincere apologies if my mail does not meet your personal
ethics. I know that this mail will come to you as a surprise, but please
do not be discouraged with my proposal it was due to how things are moving
with me. However, this correspondence is unofficial and private, and it
should be treated as such. At first I will like to assure you that this
transaction is 100% risk and trouble free to both parties.
I am Mr.Gerald Johnson, the Operations Manager with the UBS Investment
International Bank here in London. I am contacting you based on my
personal interest to develop a mutual business relationship with you
in your country. One of our accounts holding a balance of GBP7,549,250.00
has been dormant for many years.Please i am asking for your partnership in
re-profiling the funds.First of all,I will like to assure you that this
transaction is 100% risk and trouble free to both parties.I solicit for
your assistance to execute this transaction.This transaction will be covered
up by me with my status here in the bank.If you are interested to know more,
email me back so we could discuss more about this great business opportunity.

Yours Sincerely,
Gerald Johnson

Anti-fraud resources: