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

Fraud email example:

From: "hoel_harison" <hoel_harison@terra.com.mx>
Date: Sat, 17 Jun 2006 12:39:23 -0600
Subject: URGENT REPLY


URGENT REPLY
DEAR SIR/MAM
MY NAME IS HOEL HARISON AND I OWN A COMPANY THAT SELLS TEXTILE AND FABRIC MATERIAL IN AFRICA, I AM LOOKING FOR A TRUST WORTHY REPRESENTATIVE IN UNITED STATES THAT WILL AID AS A LINK BETWEEN ME AND MY CLIENTS OVER THERE.{USA}.

I SAW YOUR ADVERT AND I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW IF YOU ARE INTERESTED.PLEASE REPLY ONLY IF YOU WILL LIKE TO WORK FROM HOME PART-TIME AND GET PAID WEEKLY WITHOUT LEAVING OR IT AFFECTING YOUR PRESENT JOB. (PAY IS GOOD) PLEASE DO GET TO ME ASAP THROUGH THE EMAIL FOR FURTHER INQUIRES.

THANKS.
MR HOEL HARISON
MANAGING DIRECTOR
HOEL INVESTMENT LIMITED
REPLY BACK TO ;HOEL_HARISON@MYWAY.COM

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