419 Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam (2006-01)

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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:

This email uses a separate reply address that is different from the sender address. Spammers use this to get replies even when the original spam sending accounts have been shut down. Also, sometimes the sender addresses are legitimate looking but fake and only the reply address is actually an email account controlled by the scammers.
This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.

Fraud email example:

From: "Mr. Krieger A Kevin" <kevin@connect.ge>
Reply-To: mikiwilliams101@specialinvestigators.onmicrosoft.com
Date: Sun, 11 Sep 2016 02:44:26 +0800
Subject: URGENT: Dear hp@vo-com.com THE IMF WAS UNABLE TO CREDIT YOUR BANK ACCOUT
WITH YOUR FUNDS.@2

Dear hp@vo-com.com =

=

=

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This message is trusted by the IMF.
=

Disclaimer
The information contained in this communication from the sender is confide=
ntial. It is intended solely for use by the recipient hp@vo-com.com and oth=
ers authorized to receive it. If you are not the recipient hp@vo-com.com, y=
ou are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, distribution or taking=
action in relation of the contents of this information is strictly prohibi=
ted and may be unlawful.

This email has been scanned for viruses and malware, and may have been auto=
matically archived by IMF, an innovator in Software as a Service (SaaS) for=
business. Providing a safer and more useful place for your human generated=
data. Specializing in; Security, archiving and compliance.
.=20

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam