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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:
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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)
  • "i will like you to " (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "the consignment" (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)
  • "god fearing " (scammers in West Africa like to use religious phrases)
• This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
  

Fraud email example:

From: "ben umar" <benumar38@fastwebmail.it>
Reply-To: benumar01@gmail.com
Date: Tue, 1 Jul 2008 09:53:13 +0100
Subject: How are you doing


Dear Friend,

Is my pleasure for writing you this letter, hope you are fine? I am Ben
Umar, The son of the late Chief Agyman Umar of D R CONGO, I came to know
you in the course of my search for a reliable and God fearing partner and I
decide to contact you, because I believe you are a reputable person and I
felt you can help us over this confidential matter. I count on your
integrity and honesty to be able to handle this business.

We have a truck box that contain $6.5million U.S DOLLARS which is already in
USA we want you to assist us secure and channel it into a productive
investment ventures in your country. We are ready to give you 20% from the
total money because that was the initial agreement we had with my later
father partner, Mr .Mcwilliams westley.

The consignment is right now in the USA my Late father business partner
Mr.Mcwilliams westley was suppose to receive this consignment containing the
money in USA, but we were told that he hard a fatal car accident which lead
to his death, so we need your help to receive this consignment on behalf of
me and my mother. Please be honest to us, we are counting on you.

The director of the shipping company just inform us yesterday that the
consignment will be return back to GHANA, if the consignment is not claim
within this period, we therefore need you to stand as my family trustee to
receive the consignment in USA Contact me, If you are willing to help us
receive this consignment, all you just have to do is to contact the shipping
company here in Ghana so that they can give you instruction to their agent
holding the consignment in USA If not for God they would have return the
consignment back to Africa but God has been helping us. Please reply my mail
so that I can give you the contact of the shipping company to discuss with
them on the release of this consignment to you .

Please i will like you to send me your identity , address and phone number ,
so we can know you better. And that reminds me the shipping company does
not know the content of the boxes, it was deposited as a family treasure,
for security and safety of the consignment.

Regards,
For the family.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam