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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.

Click here to report a problem with this page.

 

 

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

Fraud email example:

From: GIRMA BETI <just4betigirma@yahoo.com>
Date: Sun, 9 Sep 2007 09:35:29 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: I WILL HANG MYSELF & DIE WITH THIS PREGNANCY


GOD BE WITH YOU,MY NAME IS BETI GIRMA,AGE 22YEARS OLD FROM ETHIOPIA.I
AM A CHRISTIAN, I AM WRITTING TO MY CHRISTIAN BROTHERS & SISTERS THIS
LETTER TO HELP ME. I AM IN A BIG TROUBLE,MY HUSBAND DIED 5MONTHS AGO.HIS
NAME IS TAMRAT ADDISU GIRMA SINCE HE DIED I AM IN TROUBLE BECAUSE I AM
PREGNANT 2MONTHS BEFORE HIS DEATH NOW MY PREGNANCY IS 7MONTHS,BUT NO
ONE TO HELP ME.I AM TIRED TO ASK FOR HELP FROM PEOPLE BUT NO ONE IS
WILLING TO HELP ME,THAT WHY I DECIDED TO WRITE OUR CHRISTIAN BROTHERS &
SISTERS TO HELP ME,BECAUSE I AM NOT STRONG AND I DON`T KNOW HOW TO TELL
YOU ABOUT MY PROBLEMS.I DON`T HAVE FOOD TO EAT AND NO BODY TO LOOK AFTER
ME AND NO SHELTER, IF MY CHRISTIAN BROTHERS & SISTERS CAN NOT HELP ME ,
I WILL HANG MYSELF OR DRINK ACID AND DIE WITH THIS PREGNANCY,NO MONEY
TO GO TO HOSPITAL,PLEASE HELP ME MY BROTHERS & SISTERS,OTHERWISE I WILL
KILL MYSELF. BECAUSE I HAVE NOTHING THAT GIVES ME HOPE AND
HAPPINESS.GOD BLESS YOU,BETI GIRMA.

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