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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

• About the 419 (Advance Fee) scam
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• 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:
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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)
  • "liberia" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
• This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
  

Fraud email example:

From: Paul Pelely <paulpelely@yahoo.com>
Reply-To: paul_pelely@yahoo.com.au
Date: Sun, 22 Oct 2006 09:06:01 +0400
Subject: GREETINGS,URGENT REPLY


Dear friend,
Compliments of the moment, My name is Prince Paul
Pelely, the personal aid to ex-president of Liberia,
Charles Taylor, currently facing the war crime
tribunal.
As the personal aid to the ex-president of Liberia,
there is a fund lodged with a financial house
somewhere in abroad and by the reason of my
relationship with the then government in power, I and
only I alone know about this fund aside the president
himself. Unfortunately, there is every need to change
the status of these funds for safety reasons. I am
soliciting for your cooperation to help us change the
deposit status of this fund, the principal sum here is
$20.5m.
This money is my reason for contacting you at this
time. I may not know you before now, but I could be
lucky to meet in you, someone who will not take
advantage of the circumstances on the ground to cheat.
When this money is successfully claimed, there could
equally be the need for you to assist me in investing
part of the money in capital projects as I will not
want to keep saving it with financial or security
houses.
As a matter of fact, you can be rest assured that it
will worth all your effort. I have every information
that will arm you in the event that you want to assist
me in safeguarding this money. I am only appealing to
you.
I would beg of you not to reply to this mail if you
are not someone I could accomplish this with. the
prevailing situation makes it practically impossible
for me accomplish this personally, hence my contacting
you and the earlier we remove it from its initial
deposit status, the better for us. i wish you are a
very kind and honest person.
When I have your expressed and genuine interest to
assist me in this transaction, I shall without
hesitation, furnish you with all the necessary
information you may need to carry it out. and when I
feel safe with you, we could do more business. We
shall talk of your percentage as we move on.
And lastly, we shall restrict this transaction via
e-mail for security reasons, but you could let me have
your phone numbers so that at the slightest
opportunity I have, I could give you a call to at
least know you better.
Do reach me at this my private exclusive email with
your positive response: paul_pelely@yanoo,com.au
Thanks in anticipation.
Yours sincerely,
Prince Paul Pelely

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam