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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: " K Richard" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <dhlcourier.service@cnegal.com>
Date: Sun, 17 Aug 2014 14:38:11 +0530
Subject: CONTACT DHL OFFICE FOR YOUR PACKAGE

 
Attn: Dearest
 
God Bless You as You Devote Your Time Reading This Mail
 
May God Bless You as You read. I am Mrs Ruth Hopewell,suffering from
cancerous ailment.
 
I was married to Mr.Brian Hopewell ,my husband worked with Chevron/Texaco in the Thailand for twenty years before he died in the year 2013 during the Spanish train
 
crash which took him away from me. copy paste the link below for news info on edition.cnn.com/2013/07/30/world/europe/spain-train-crash  My late husband deposited the
 
sum of $ 17.5 Million (Seventeen Million Five Hundred Thousand Dollars) with a Bank in Thailand.
 
Recently,I am currently in India for the past two months undergoing treatment and my Doctor told me that I have limited days to live due to the stroke and cancerous
 
problems I am suffering from.I have decided to donate this funds to charity Home through you and want you to use my husbands effort to fund the upkeep of widows and
 
charities worldwide.
 
I took this decision because I do not have any child that will inherit this money and my husband relatives are bourgeois and very wealthy persons and I do not want my
 
husband hard earned money to be misused so In This Faith i have decided so please be Obliged to do this for GOD as i Await your urgent reply.
 
via my email address: ruthopewell204@outlook.com
 
With God all things are possible.
Your Sister in Christ,
Mrs Ruth Hopewell

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