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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.

Click here to report a problem with this page.

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

• An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "i will like you to " (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "a security company " (this will cost you money - be careful with upfront payments to anyone you only know through email, especially if they promise you a lot of money. )
  • "will come to you as a surprise" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "huge amount of money" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
  • "trunk box" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
  • "united state of america" (this email uses bad English)
  • "abidjan" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
• This email message is a orphan scam.
• This email lists free webmail addresses. Use of such addresses is typical for scams. Lotteries, banks and any but the smallest of companies do not normally use such addresses. Criminals use them to anonymously send and receive email at Internet cafes.
  • alice_alfred2007@yahoo.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: alice alfred <alice_4alfred@yahoo.com>
Date: Sun, 19 Aug 2007 02:56:48 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: FROM ALICE ALFRED,


Hi Dearest,

I got your contact information’s through internet searching after reading your profile I desieded to contact you. I know that this mail will come to you as a surprise but I will like you to take this as one of the things people over come on this earth. And I know that it is God that led me to get your contact so that you will be of help to me. Before I will go on let me introduce my self to you so that you will be able to know me well.

My name is Miss Alice alfred my mother is from united state of America why my father is from Abidjan Cote D’Ivoire in West Africa. My father and my mother where living in America and I was born in America. My mother died when I was only 7 yrs and I am the only daughter to my parents so when I was 9yrs my father took me to his own town in Africa where he Establish a company since then I am with my father till on the 1st of January 2007 my father died in a car accident why coming back from a club meeting. So after the burial of my father his brothers send me away I mean my uncles and they said that I am not the daughter of there brother so they took all my father had, houses and his company and they said that in Africa here that woman did not have any right over her father property so they drove me away from my father’s house and I can not do anything to them because I am only 18yrs now.

Then the only thing I have now is the documents that my father used to deposit a huge amount of money in a trunk box with a security company here in this country and know one knows about this .My father disclosed this to me because I am his only child and he told me that he wants to use this money to Establish another company in overseas and he hand over the documents to me and tell me that encase anything happens to him in any way that I have to take this document and look for a foreigner from oversea, who will help me to claim this trunk box from the security company and send it out from this country to his or her country. And he told me that I should not let the security company to know about the content in the trunk box because the security company did not know any thing that is in the trunk box because he told them that it is family valuables.

Since my father's family have drove me away and I have no where to go or stay so I went to the security company to claim the trunk box, and the director have agreed to release the trunk box to me as the next of kings and the trunk box was deposited with my name as the next of kings but I see that I can not claim this on my own because I am only 18yrs I can not handle the money that is inside so that is why I contact you to help me claim this trunk box and ship it to your country so that I can be able to come to your country for you to help me Establish an investment then I will continue my Education in your country .Please I will reward you if you can assist me on this please.

I will give you the documents if you agreed to help me with trust and honesty without any disappointment. I will stop until I hear from you.

>From Miss Alice Alfred, Email contact: alice_alfred2007@yahoo.com,

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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam