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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: "Ester Williams" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <esterwilliams.w@yahoo.com>
Date: Sun, 16 Apr 2023 13:50:48 -0700
Subject: Please Reply!

My Greetings to you, please is this your private email, kindly let me know i have something very important to discuss with you. If you are interested I will give you more information about it as soon as I receive your positive response.
Best regards,
Ester Williams.

Anti-fraud resources: