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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

• About the 419 (Advance Fee) scam
• "Is that email a scam?" - Check it online here!
  
• Frequently asked Questions (419 FAQ)
• Phone numbers used by 419 scammers
  (+225 +229 +234 +27 +31 +32 +34 +44 other)
• Company names mentioned in 419 spam:
  1 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
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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.

Read more about such scams here or in our 419 FAQ. Use the Scam-O-Matic to verify suspect emails.

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Some comments by the Scam-O-Matic about the following email:

• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "dear friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "await your urgent response" (they are rushing you so you don't have time to think properly)
• This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
  

Fraud email example:

From: Albert <a1200@web2mail.com>
Reply-To: ali5001@web2mail.com
Date: Tue, 16 May 2006 09:02:13 +0200
Subject: Hello


Dear friend,

Sorry for intruding into your privacy, I am a 65 years old man and a British citizen currently living in Kuwait.

I am an Oil merchant and owned Oil businesses in Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. I was married with two children and my wife and two children died in a car accident six years ago.

Two years ago I was diagnosed with prostrate cancer and this week my doctors have just informed me that i have few months to live.

Before this happened my business and concern for making money was all I lived for. I never really cared about other values in life.

But since the loss of my family and after i was dianosed with prostrate cancer, i have found a new desire to assist helpless families. I have been helping charity organisations by donating money to them to assist the less priviledge in Asia and other parts of the world.

Before I became ill, I kept some money, three and a half million dollars ($3.5million) to be precise in a long term deposit account in a private finance institution in europe.

Presently, I am in a hospital and my doctor says i have few months to live, and it is my last wish to see this money distributed to charity organizations.

Because so much of my wealth has been plundered by relatives and friends since my illness, I cannot live with the agony of entrusting this huge responsibility to any of them.

I want you to assist me collect the funds from the finance company in europe and distribute it amongst charity organizations. Use your judgment to distribute the money and keep 10%
of it to yourself. Feel free to reimburse yourself when you have the money for any cost you incur during the process of collecting and distributing the money to charity organizations.

May you be blessed for your good deed.

I await your urgent response.

Best regards,

Albert

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam