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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: "UNITED NATIONS BOARD OF TRUSTEES (BOT) | UNITAR" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <amnestyunitar@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 10 Mar 2015 09:53:12 +0100
Subject: IMPORTANT NOTICE ON YOUR FUND | UNITAR

Greetings
 
Please note that our email address,amnesty_unitar@diplomats.com has hacked by some unscrupulous people and we have officially advised closure of the box.All further correspondence should be forwarded to amnestyunitar@diplomats.com.
 
Kindly inform us if Guaranty Trust Bank (UK) Limited has granted your request on the ATM card procurement with the approved amount.
 
Please note that we have paid for all the documentations as requested by the bank and Congratulations to you once again
 
Yours Sincerely,
Ambassador Alfonso Quiñónez
Chairman,Finance Committee
+44-793-742-6761

Anti-fraud resources: