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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: "VODAFONE IRELAND" <winnings@vodafoneonline.com> (may be fake)
Reply-To: mos.abraham@gmail.com
Date: Sun, 28 Mar 2010 22:12:34 +0200 (CEST)
Subject: CONGRATULATIONS FROM VODAFONE




Office of the Director General
Vodafone Ireland
Vodafone House
Sandyford
Dublin
Ireland

Dear Sir/Madam,

This is to confirm that as part of our annual spring promotions, your
email has been selected as one of our 10 lucky winners in our online draw.
You have been awarded the sum of €1, 0000 (One Million Euros Only).

Reference Number: VOIRE114477RTPA
Winning Number: 1000110

Reply back quoting this number including the following:

Name:
Date of Birth:
Address:
Nationality:
Place of Birth:
Occupation:

Please note that you might be required to provide proof of Identification
to prevent fraudulent claims.

Contact our Claims Manager on the details below:

Moses Abraham
mosabraham@vodafone.ie



Anti-fraud resources: