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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: "Google" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <ru.porat@outlook.com>
Date: Mon, 31 Jul 2017 20:54:36 -0700
Subject: Winning Notification

Dear Google User,

Please kindly find your winning notification as attached.

NOTE! Google values your right to privacy! Your information is 100% secured and will be used exclusively for the purpose of this award only.

The Google Promotion Award Team has discovered a huge number of double claims due to winners informing close friends relatives about their winning and also sharing their pin numbers. The Google Promotion Award Team has reached a decision from headquarters that any double claim discovered by the Lottery Board will result to the cancelling of that particular winning. So you are hereby strongly advised once more to keep your winnings strictly confidential until you claim your prize.

Anti-fraud resources: