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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.

Click here to report a problem with this page.

 

 

Some comments by the Scam-O-Matic about the following email:

Fraud email example:

From: "Elisabeth Hoffmann" <elisabeth@glv.ne.jp>
Reply-To: mrselisabethhoffmann526@gmail.com
Date: Fri, 03 Nov 2023 17:54:51 -0700
Subject: Hello my friend .



Hello my friend . I am sorry for intruding into your privacy, I bring peac=
e and lovely greetings to you and your family in the name of God, having kn=
own the truth, I had no choice but to do what is lawful and right in the si=
ght of God for eternal life and in the sight of man to witness God's mercy =
and glory upon my life, after prayerful and deep consideration I was inspir=
ed to write you this mail, as my only desire is to find a person of integri=
ty and the right capacity who can diligently handle this project. so I crav=
e your indulgence to take your time and read it carefully as I write this m=
essage from my sickbed. I am a very religious Christian, struggling with ca=
ncer, which is in a very critical phase now, as the medical experts informe=
d me of how critical my situation is currently. I inherited money from my l=
ate husband Mr. Hoffmann, Unfortunately, my only surviving brother who shou=
ld have been my next of kin recently died as a result of complications aris=
ing from being afflicted by the coronavirus (COVID19). That's why I was lef=
t with no option but to take my chance and reach out to you. Please use thi=
s money while exercising your utmost discretion to assist as many that are =
vulnerable, needy just like most charity organizations operate.. I don't wa=
nt to donate this money to already established charity organizations becaus=
e most have proven to enrich themselves instead of doing the actual charity=
for which they receive donations. I want to assure you that this is not st=
olen money, it's clean money and free of any illegality, there is no risk o=
r danger in the process. There will be a proper transfer of ownership that =
will be handled by my lawyer in conjunction with the bank. You are to take =
30% of this money for your personal use then you use 60% for the charity fo=
undation and the remaining 10% for any unforeseen expenses you might incur =
before the transfer of the funds. Your quick response is much appreciated s=
o that I can give you more detail. Thank You! Elisabeth Hoffmann.=20

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