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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: "Maher Steil L" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <aamahersteit111165@yahoo.com>
Date: Thu, 25 Dec 2014 21:24:09 +0100
Subject: From Maher Labib Abou Steit,

Dear Sir,

I write from the desk of the manager United Bank of Egypt
(UBE).In my bank covered an abandoned sum of $33.3musd in an
account that belongs to one of our foreign customer, by
name, Mr.Robert Chapman,who was African area director for
Wycliffe bible translators international, who died along
with his wife, in January 2000 in a Kenyan plane crash in
the coast of Abidjan, Ivory coast.

We have been expecting his next of kin to come over and
claim his money because we can not release it unless
somebody applies for it as next of kin or relation to the
deceased as indicated in our banking guidelines. Based upon
this discovery I decided to make business with you and
release the money to you as the next of kin or relation of
the deceased for safety and subsequent disbursement.

Certain percentage of this money will be for you as my
foreign partner. Upon receipt of your reply I will direct
you on the next line of action(Application)thereafter I will
visit your country for disbursement according to
the percentage agreed.

Yours faithfully

Maher Labib Abou Steit,
General Manager,United Bank of Egypt.106,
Kasr El-Aini st,
Cairo center building, Cairo, Egypt.

Anti-fraud resources: