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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: "Edward Lugard" <lugardedward@hotmail.com>
Reply-To: eelugard11@nyc.com
Date: Fri, 25 Nov 2005 03:47:39 +0000
Subject: PLEASE READ AND RESPOND(CONFIDENTIAL)

HELLO FRIEND,
PLEASE BEAR WITH ME FOR NOW AND DO NOT ASK MY NAME.
WHAT I HAVE MAY BE OF INTEREST TO YOU. IT IS A
BUSINESS PROPOSAL THAT WILL BE BENEFICIAL TO YOU AND
I.
I LIVE IN LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM. I AM 43 YEARS OLD AND I
HAVE BEEN WORKING with a Finance Company in London
UK FOR THE PAST 17 YEARS
WHERE I AM PRESENTLY AN ACCOUNT OFFICER.
I WILL GIVE YOU MY FULL DETAILS ON YOUR REPLY TO THIS
LETTER. MY AIM OF CONTACTING YOU IS TO SOLICIT YOUR
CO-OPERATION AND ASSISTANCE BASED ON ONE OF THE ACCOUNTS UNDER
MY MANAGEMENT
CONTAINING $12.5MILLION (TWELVE MILLION & FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS)
WHICH HAS REMAINED DORMANT FOR THE LAST TWELVE YEARS. THIS ACCOUNT
WAS OWNED BY THE LATE MRS. JOVITA JASMINE CARERRA AND FOLLOWING MY
INVESTIGATION, I FOUND OUT THAT SHE DIED ON MAY 1992 VIA A CAR CRASH
IN THE BAHAMAS AND SHE LEFT NO CHILDREN OR NEXT OF KIN.
I WILL INFORM YOU MORE ON HOW WE CAN GET THE MONEY IN
HER ACCOUNT TRANSFERED INTO YOUR ACCOUNT IF YOU AGREE
TO CO-OPERATE WITH ME ON THIS ON YOUR REPLY TO THIS
MAIL.
I WILL ALSO GIVE YOU MORE PERSONAL DETAILS OF ME AND
THE TRANSACTION ON YOUR REPLY.
PLEASE TREAT THIS AS CONFIDENTIAL, URGENT AND OF
UTMOST IMPORTANCE.
PLEASE RESPOND ONLY VIA:eelugard11@nyc.com


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