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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: "Susan Pearson" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <susan.pearson35@aol.com>
Date: Sun, 16 Sep 2018 13:26:41 -0700
Subject: GOOD DAY SIR/MADAM

Good day,

Firstly I apologize for encroaching into your privacy in this manner as it may seem unethical though it is a matter of great importance.

I am Susan Pearson, I work with Cayman National Bank (Cayman Islands).

I am contacting you because my status would not permit me to do this alone as it is concerning our customer and an investment placed under our bank's management over 5 years ago.

I would respectfully request that you keep the contents of this mail confidential and respect the integrity of the information you come by as a result of this mail.

Please kindly get back to me for more details if I can trust you.

Regards
Susan Pearson

Anti-fraud resources: