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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: Mrs Maria Elisabeth Schaeffler <website@rsystems.com>
Reply-To: <plugs@plugaudioservices.com>
Date: Tue, 27 Oct 2020 22:33:01 -0700
Subject: DONATION

Greeting to you, Freewll Donation of 1.7 Mllion Euro, Email for details now. Mrs Maria Elisabeth Schaeffler CEO SCHAEFFLER...

The information contained in this e-mail and any accompanying documents may contain information that is confidential or otherwise protected from disclosure. If you are not the intended recipient of this message, please immediately alert the sender by reply e-mail and then delete this message. Any dissemination, distribution or other use of the contents of this message by anyone other than the intended recipient is strictly prohibited. R Systems has taken every reasonable precaution to minimize the risk, but is not liable for any damage you may sustain as a result of any virus in this e-mail. You should carry out your own virus checks before opening the e-mail or attachment.

Anti-fraud resources: