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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: "Bank of America" (may be fake)
Date: Thu, 25 Aug 2016 08:44:39 -0700
Subject: Reminder: You have (1) Unread Secured Message !

Bank of America Data Verification

Dear Bank of America Customer,


A change has occurred in your Bank of America® Online Banking  file.

It’s important that you review the details of this change to determine if it’s valid 

Click on the "Access my Account" button below

This Alert relates to your Online Banking profile, rather than a particular account.
The account listed here is for verification purposes only.

For information purposes only.  Email Secure

Thank you For Keep the Change®-enrolled Bank of America debit card

® PRIVACY ASSIST PREMIER® Member Services

 

Anti-fraud resources: