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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: Michael Kai <readrand54@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 19 Aug 2020 18:28:48 +0100
Subject: READ AND REPLY PLEASE

I am sorry for invading your privacy. My name is Michael Kai. I am from
Norway but currently in the USA. I have been a successful businessman for
the past 20 years, my business interests has spanned the sectors of metals,
oil and precious stones in Asia, Africa and Europe, during this time, I
have amassed a lot of wealth but recently I was diagnosed with esophageal
cancer. It has defiled all forms of medical treatment, and right now I have
only about a few weeks to live.

I was rich, but was never generous; I have given most of my assets to my
immediate family members but my mind is not at peace since I have a dream
of giving back to the society and helping the needy in our world.I have
decided to give alms and donations to charity organizations.I cannot do
this myself anymore because of my health. I once asked members of my family
to give some money to charity organizations,they refused and kept the money
for themselves that made my health heavy and uneasy. I have a huge cash
deposit in a secured bank since 2011. I will want you to help me collect
this deposit and dispatch it to charity organizations for charity work
under your supervision.


You will take out 30% of these funds for your assistance. Please answer
these questions

[1] Full Names:

[2] Your Country:

[3] Direct Telephone

[4] Date of birth:

[5] Occupation:

Regards,
Mike Kai

Anti-fraud resources: