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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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Fraud email example:

From: "sally_usman" <sop@yahoo.com> (may be fake)
Reply-To: slly_usman@yahoo.com
Date: Sun, 6 Jan 1980 07:30:21 +0100
Subject: assistance and investment proposal.

Dear Sir
I am sally Usman 46 years old of age Muslim female from Republic of Sudan.My husband is into Timber sells, ,he die of heart ailment with only one surviving son.

On that faithful afternoon,before he die,he disclosed it to me that he made a deposit with the name of my son in a security and finance company here in senegal,the amount deposited USD $ 8,500,000.00 (Eight Million Five Hundred Thousand US Dollars).
As I have not had the pleasure of demonstrating the advantages of this investment. Meanwhile, in your response I would like you to indicate your willingness to handle this transaction sincerely by protecting my interest and upon your acceptance of this proposal, I would appreciate us to discuss the details and mutually agree on your percentage interest or share holding for helping me to secure the transfer of the asset and investing it.
Looking forward to your urgent and positive response.

Yours Sincerely,
Sally Usman.



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