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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: =?UTF-8?B?Ik1yLiBEYXZpcyBEdWtlIg==?= <edu.mafra@terra.com.br>
Date:
Subject: =?UTF-8?B?QXdhaXRpbmcgcmVwbHk=?=

Hello Dear,=
I am requesting your assistance to partnership with me for investmen= t in your country, if you can assure me safety and trust of the funds as it= enters your country. I respectfully appreciate your time to go through thi= s proposal. My name is Mr. Davis Duke from Monrovia, Liberia. I discovered = your email through comprehensive web email search on directory so I decided= to contact you. I know this might sound like scam to you because of the ac= tivities going on in the internet today. But I assure you that this is not = a joke and I know you are capable to handle this project. So I write you th= is letter in good faith as it pleases you.

My deceased father= deposited the sum of Forty Eight Million Dollars ($48,000.000.00) in a ban= k for safe keeping. So I need a foreign trusted person who will help me to = invest this funds into any lucrative business to generate more revenue for = us.

Absolutely, I am writing to seek your assistance as a faithful p= erson to stand and accept to receive this money in your country as my forei= gn partner and my co-beneficiary of this funds. If this request matches wit= h your inward intention for success and greatness, then you are urged to ma= ke a quick response indicating your interest and readiness to participate a= nd work with me to make this successful.

I am looking forward to hea= r from you.
Kind regards,
Mr. Davis Duke

Anti-fraud resources: