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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: "Ann Hester" <horien@yamaha-motor.co.jp>
Reply-To: "Ann Hester" <3239022hesann@gmail.com>, 3239022hesann@gmail.com
Date: Fri, 7 Apr 2023 05:54:31 -0700
Subject: Kindly get back to me

Hello Friend,
My name is Sgt. Ann L. Hester, from the US army. I came across your contact online and I want to discuss something very important with you because I will need a great help from you. Five years ago, I was on a mission in Kabul, Afghanistan and was gifted by a very wealthy man whom I helped
escape with family from danger and out of the country. The man was so grateful to me for helping save his life, wife and two girls and for that reason he gave me a box telling me that it's his way of appreciation for what I did for him and family. When I opened it afterwards,
it was cash in dollar bills worth $4.5m. I couldn't believe my eyes but I thanked God knowing that this is a turning point for me. It was hard for me to keep it safe there since its a military camp and we only lived in tenths and canopies and also it was improper and against the laws for me to keep
such there so i managed to asked the red cross team when they arrived to supply us with medicine to help take it back home to New York but unfortunately the team were asked to go to Turkey from there and so i had no choice than to allow the leader to whom i asked this favor to deposit the box
with a security company there in Turkey . He did that and it was successful. He didn't know the content in the box. I told him that I never know if I will make it alive from the mission so in the box are some valuables of mine that I want to keep for my daughter and that's how the box was saved
It is saved as family valuables in my name there at the security company in Turkey for a period of 5 years. Now the Company emailed me for pick up because the due time is over and I can't help it now due to the fact that I am currently on a joint mission with the US navy. I don't want
anything bad to happen to it either since that was the initial agreement. I don't know what to do now since I can't trust this with anyone from the military base back home. It can be used against me in the future and I can lose everything I have worked for all these years. I have been thinking
about it since then and in conclusion I needed to find a reliable person to help secure this box until my return in 5 months time. When I came across your contact, I decided to give it a try by writing to you to see if you can help me. Am counting on you that you will receive this box and keep it safe
with you till I return to meet you. Am offering you 30% of the content. The security company has a diplomat that will bring it to your address so you don't have to worry about how to get it. All I want from you is your word that I can really trust you and that you will not betray me. Let me know if I can really
count on you so I can give you the details of the security company to contact them and communicate on receiving the box. I await your urgent reply.
Yours,
Ann Hester

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