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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: "Mrs. Sarah Thomas" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <mrswulansarahthomas@yahoo.co.jp>
Date: Wed, 15 Apr 2015 08:36:06 -0300
Subject: Don't ignore this, please.

Hello my dear, i greet you and your family in the name of God Almighty. I am Mrs. Sarah Thomas which i know you don't know me but you will get to know me more better if you give me the chance. I might not know you now but God Almighty know you more than i do before directing me to you. Please dont be surprised for God work in a miraculous way and i know my God can not lead me astray. I know you will be surprised how i got your email ID but like i said before, our God is a God of wonder and work in a miraculous way that is, if you believed, know and trust Him with all your heart. After searching the internet, i came accros your email ID and i pray to God Almighty about it until i was satisfied and okay about it before i could write you this mail. The word of God say in Jeremiah 1:5, before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb i sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. Don't be skeptical about these, please
.

For some months now i have been on the hospital bed getting treated for cancer of the lungs which has also affected my brain. I have also lost the ability to talk well. My condition is deteriorating at an alarming rate and according to my doctors, I may not live beyond the next two months. This is because the cancer has gotten to a very bad stage. Having being brought up at an orphanage, i was married to my late husband for twenty years without a child. We were fervent christians. My husband died in a fatal auto crash and i decided not to re-marry. Before my husband's demise, he had deposited 15,000,000USD.

Having searched for a reliable and God fearing person and having gotten your contact via prayers and painstaking efforts through searches i made. It is my last wish to contribute part of this wealth to the development of evangelism and for charity and i wish you could help carry out my last wish. I hope i can trust you cause so many people are eager for money and have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs." I Timothy 6:10. I pray the Lord God give you the grace to do His will in Jesus name. Amen. I don’t want to die and leave my funds like this lady in the link below who left 13Million USD for a cat.

http://gma.yahoo.com/blogs/abc-blogs/woman-leaves-13m-fortune-pet-cat-123953959.html

As soon as i receive your reply with your name, address and phone number and assurance that you will do as i have said, I will be giving you more details about the fund. I hope to read back from you soon. It is well with you. Amen.

Remian blessed.
Mrs. Sarah Thomas

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