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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: "SENATOR FAROUK LAWAL"
<lfarouk@ymail.com>
Date: 5 Jul 2015 00:48:34 +0100
Subject: ATTN: THE MANAGING DIRECTOR / PRESIDENT


Attention: Please,
My name is Senator Farouk Lawal, the Presidential Adviser on Petroleum Matters. I am contacting you to know if you can transact a business with me.
In 2014 I and some executive members in the Petroleum Ministry inflated a contract to the sum of US$32,000,000.00 (Thirty-Two Million United States Dollars) for our personal use and we wish to transfer the above mentioned to your account for safe investment under your care.
If you are interested, kindly get back to me with your full contact and company information for more details.
Senator Farouk Lawal.Tel: +234 810 406 8655.

Anti-fraud resources: