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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.

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

Fraud email example:

From: Microsoft Corporation <bonnet.benson@msn.com>
Date: Thu, 7 Aug 2014 13:32:32 -0500
Subject: APOLOGIES: Sir/Madam


Microsoft Corporation USAOne Microsoft WayRedmond, WA 98052-6399

APOLOGIES AND IDENTITY CONFIRMATION:

Seasons greetings to you, first we the new management board of Microsoft apologize to you on this late response and to notify you of the changes in the Microsoft management board as Steve Ballmer, is no longer the chairman.
We discovered in our foreign account some substantial amount in several millions of dollars (over $16, million) belonging to the above person for an unclaimed Microsoft promotion, which the new management is yet to be briefed properly, the said funds has gained a lot of interests with so many people coming forward as the true beneficiary of the said funds. We want a proper confirmation before we pay out.
We want you to confirm if actually you are the above person with the email address and we will like you to elaborate more on what happened and what you think we should know so far. We are not asking you to pay any fees, all we need is to confirm if you are the rightful owner of the said funds. If after 5 days we do not hear from you we will take other necessary actions.

Best Regards,
Bonnet Benson,Microsoft Public Relations officer

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