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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: "HSBC Bank plc." (may be fake)
Date: Wed, 15 Sep 2010 15:05:33 +0200
Subject: Bank of HSBC Alert: Irregular Credit Card Activity

HSBC Bank PLC.

We detected irregular activity on your HSBC Internet banking account on 13/09/2010.

For your protection, you must verify this activity before you can continue using your account.

Please visit http://www.hsbc.co.uk/1/2/ to review your account activity.

We will review the activity on your account with you and upon verification,

and we will remove any restrictions placed on your account.

Please disregard this notice if you have already accessed the web site or spoken with one of our representatives.

Want to confirm this email is from HSBC Group?

Sign in to Internet Banking and select Alerts History to verify this alert.

__________________________________________________________________________

Because email is not a secure form of communication, this email box is not equipped to handle replies.
If you have any questions about your account or need assistance, please call the phone number on your statement or go to Contact Us at www.hsbc.co.uk.
HSBC Group , Member FDIC.
© 2010 HSBC Bank Plc. . All Rights Reserved.

 

Anti-fraud resources: