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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: "manuel franco" <>
Reply-To: manuelfrancospende11@gmail.com
Date: Mon, 24 Apr 2023 06:32:15 +0200
Subject: 2.000.000,00 Euro

Hallo

Sie haben eine Spende in Höhe von 2,045 Millionen US-Dollar (2.000.000,00 Euro).

Mein Name ist Manuel Franco aus den Vereinigten Staaten. Ich habe die Amerika-Lotterie im Wert von 768 Millionen Dollar gewonnen und spende einen Teil davon an nur 5 glückliche Menschen und ein paar Waisenhäuser als Memorandum des guten Willens für die Menschheit. Wenn Sie ein Empfänger dieser E-Mail sind, kontaktieren Sie mich für weitere Details und Ansprüche. Ich bin vielleicht sehr beschäftigt, aber ich werde mir Zeit nehmen, um Ihnen zu antworten.

Anti-fraud resources: