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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: <coordinator_mary@mail2ireland.com>
Date: Thu, 15 Sep 2005 16:18:19 +0100
Subject: IRISH LOTTERY COMMISSION

FROM:
IRISH LOTTERY COMMISSION
INTERNATIONAL HOUSE
TARA STREET
DUBLIN 2, IRELAND.
REF NUMBER: OSL/653/029/03
BATCH NUMBER: AT-040-SB06-03
EMAIL:mary_smith2@virgilio.it

DEAR SIR/MADAM,

We are pleased to inform you, THAT AS A RESULT OF OUR
RECENT LOTTERY DRAWS HELD ON THE 14TH SEPTEMBER 2005.
Your e-mail address attached to ticket number
27522465896-532 with serial number 652-662 drew lucky
numbers 7-14-18-23-31-45 which consequently won in the
2nd category. You have therefore been approved for a
lump sum pay out of 4,000,000 (EUROS) (FOUR MILLION
EUROS) note that All participants in this lottery program
have been selected randomly through a computer ballot
system drawn from over 20,000 companies and 30,000,000
individual email addresses from all search engines and
web sites. This promotional program takes place every
year, and is promoted and sponsored by eminent
personalities like the Sultan of Brunei, Bill Gates of
Microsoft Inc and other corporate organizations. This
is to encourage the use of the internet and computers
worldwide.
For security purpose and clarity, we advise that you
keep your winning information confidential until your
claims have been processed and your money remitted to
you. This is part of our security protocol to avoid
double claims and unwarranted abuse of this program by
some participants. We look forward to your active
participation in our next year USD50 million slot.
You are requested to contact our clearance officer
below to assist you with your winnings and subsequent
payments. All winnings must be claimed not later than
one month after the date of this notice.
Please note, in order to avoid unnecessary delays and
complications, remember to quote your reference number
and batch numbers in all correspondence. Furthermore,
should there be any change of address do inform our
agent as soon as possible.
Congratulations once more and thank you for being part
of our promotional program.
NOTE: YOU ARE AUTOMATICALLY DISQUALIFIED IF YOU ARE
BELOW 18 YEARS OF AGE.


Sincerely yours,
Mrs Mary Smith
(LOTTERY COORDINATOR)

NOTE:
REPLY MAILS SHOULD BE SENT TO MY PRIVATE MAIL BOX:
EMAIL:mary_smith2@virgilio.it

Anti-fraud resources: