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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: "Manga Saleh" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <manga.saleh@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 5 Aug 2011 19:40:04 +0200
Subject: Manga Saleh=

From:  Manga  Saleh
Tel:    073-803-1758
E-mail: manga.saleh@gmail.com
I am the above named person from Sudan. Due to the political crisis and war in Sudan, I ran away and settled in Libya for years. My father was a top government official in Sudan for over 12 years before his death. Unfortunately, the war in Libya has made it imperative for me to leave Libya and find a new place to settle. I found your details in the business directory and decided to contact you. I need your assistance to invest my funds here in South Africa.
I entered into South Africa as political asylum seeker and as such, I am yet to obtain the legal permits necessary to conduct business legally on my own in South Africa. So I need someone to assist me in the investment and management of my money. I am willing to buy any profitable business with the huge funds that I have and engage an expert to manage it for me, that is, if you will not be able to also manage it on my behalf pending on when I obtain the legal permission to carry out businesses on my own. So if you want to sell your business or you know of someone who wants to sell, please let me know immediately. If you also know of any investment opportunities, please kindly contact me so that we can work together on it. Also, I can become a silent partner in your business. My role will be to provide my funds for you to invest them in your business or any other profitable area of business you deem fit and we can share the profits as may be agreed.
I am willing to also negotiate other terms and conditions with you for this assistance.
If you can be of assistance to me in this regard, please contact me with the above telephone number or e-mail address as soon as you receive this letter. If by any chance you are not interested, please let me know so that I can take another decision on what to do, but it is important that you contact me upon the receipt of this letter. Please maintain absolute confidentiality on this matter.
Thank you for your attention and looking forward to hearing from you.
Regards,
Manga Saleh

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