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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: "Mrs. Doris Lakes" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <drmrsamad@yahoo.ie>
Date: Sat, 10 Feb 2018 04:09:01 -0800
Subject: From Mrs. Doris Lakes. Can I Trust You?

Hello,

My name is Mrs. Doris Lakes. I was diagnosed with cancer about 2 years ago, and I am receiving treatment for it, but now the doctors are saying I have a short time to live.I had no children of my own with my late husband . I have decided to donate the sum of $7 Million to you, so you can disburse to charities, widows, orphans and less privileged. I was doing this myself but now my health has deteriorated. I will be going in for an operation soon, I want this last act of mine to be my way of giving back to humanity. Please let me know if this is something you can handle and I will provide you with more details.

Stay blessed,
Mrs. Doris Lakes.

Anti-fraud resources: