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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: Betty <44bettyjan@gmail.com>
Reply-To: bjs182899@gmail.com
Date: Fri, 16 Sep 2022 00:57:45 +0000
Subject: Best Regards;

Greetings!!!

How are you doing? I am sorry for disturbing you, I have some issue
that has been giving me sleepless nights and if I do not do it before
my surgery, I will be disappointed in my late husband. As I was
diagnosed with ovarian cancer and have been hospitalized for months
here, my doctor has confirmed that I have only some weeks to live due
to my condition.

Please I have the sum of ($2.8M USD) which is in my account, I want
you to help me release it from the bank and use it to build a charity
foundation for the less privileged. Please kindly reply to me if you
can handle this project and also assure me that you will only take 30%
of the money, while 70% will be used as directed above.

I am waiting to hear from you.
Yours Sincerely,
Mrs. Betty

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