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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: Mrs Lorraine Gokul <loveandsoul4heart@gmail.com>
Reply-To: lorraine.g50@yahoo.com
Date: Wed, 14 Jun 2017 12:23:04 +0000
Subject: I WANT MY SON TO INVEST IN YOUR COUNTRY

I WANT MY SON TO INVEST IN YOUR COUNTRY

Hello,

I sent you an email a few days ago, and am unsure of its arrival at your
end destination. However, I would like to bring to your awareness of the
urgency of my situation. Let me take a moment to write again to let you
know the reason I contacted you.

I am a white single mother, a 50 years old from South Africa who needs
to make my fortune of some million dollars work to provide for my son as I
am looking for investment opportunities for him oversea specifically to
secure his financial future.

I have a bachelor's degree in Computer Science and was a Systems Analyst
/Programmer. In past years I worked as Business Development Manager for an
EPC company in Ivory Coast owned by my late husband, the company whose
focus is on the upstream Oil & Gas market. The company was sold after I was
diagnosed with a medical condition, a pancreatic cancer and cannot handle
the stress and pressure of the job which provoked a flare-up within my late
husband family members since I have few months to live.

Due to my situation, I need your assist to protect the financial future
of my son and get your planning guide towards making a possible million
dollars oversea investment opportunities for him in your country. If you
are sure you can help me handle any investment and safe keeping of the
investment money in your country on behalf of my son, then do not hesitate
to contact me.

Looking forward to reading from you soon.

Thank you and warm regard,

Mrs Lorraine Gokul

Anti-fraud resources: