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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: "Mr Andy Harry" <havsd_200@mail.com> (may be fake)
Reply-To: harryandy@outgun.com
Date: Tue, 16 Nov 2004 23:22:34 -0800
Subject: Urgent Response

Dear Sir/Ma,

My name is Andy Harry,an erstwhile associate and confidant of
President Jean-bertrand Aristide of Haiti,following the change of
government in Haiti.Mr.Aristide has been forced into exile in South
Africa as a result of international pressure and in the interest of
peace.

I as an associate has been forced to leave Haiti for my own safety
and fear of retribution from the current interim government and rebel
groups.I am currently seeking asylum here in the United Kingdom.I
have investment interests and i am looking for a efficient and
reliable partner with a good financial and investment track record
to work with in investing and running long-term business ventures.I
will request your prompt response to enable us discuss the situation.

Yours sincerely
Andy Harry



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