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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: "Ms. Carman L. Lapointe" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <carman100@qq.com>
Date: Thu, 2 Oct 2014 04:08:55 -0400
Subject: From Ms. Carman L

Attn:
This is to officially bring to your notice that your payments which amount to 10.5 million United States Dollars is now ready for onward remittance into your choice account.
Below information are required to enable us proceed with the immediate transfer of your funds into your nominated bank account:
FULL NAME:
FULL CONTACT ADDRESS:
TELEPHONE NUMBER:
OCCUPATION:
SEX:
DATE OF BIRTH:
Fund Release Approval Code: (UN/ UN2014/009A),
Upon receipt of the above details, we shall commence the immediate transfer of your funds without delay.
We sincerely apologize for the delay you have encountered in trying to receive your funds, but we assure you that those delays will never be encountered again.
Accept our congratulations.
Sincerely yours,
Ms. Carman L. Lapointe

Anti-fraud resources: