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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: BMW Automobile. <bmw_claimsdpt2008@gmx.com>
Reply-To: bmw_claimdpt2008@yahoo.es
Date: Sun, 06 Apr 2008 04:51:44 +0200
Subject: Your e-mail address won a BMW 5 Series...


!!!CONGRATULATION YOU ARE A WINNER!!!.
The Board of Directors, members of staff and the International Awareness =
Promotion Department of the BMW Automobile Company, wishes to congratulate =
you on your success as the STAR PRIZE WINNER in this years' BMW Automobile =
International Awareness Promotion (IAP) held in April 3rd, 2008, in Spain.

The attachment carries winning information's, description of prize vehicle =
and how to claim your winning.


Anti-fraud resources: