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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: Natalie Barnswell <nbarnswell35@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 5 Sep 2021 20:43:33 -0700
Subject: IS MR. ROBERT SMITH YOUR NEXT OF KIN.?


I GOT AN EMAIL FROM A MAN THAT CALLED HIMSELF MR.
ROBERT SMITH WHO TOLD US THAT YOU DIED FEW DAYS AGO AS A RESULT OF THE
DREADED CORONA VIRUS, HE CLAIMS TO BE YOUR NEXT OF KIN AND WANTS TO CLAIM
YOUR OVER DUE APPROVED PART PAYMENT OF $9.5M USD ON YOUR BEHALF.

KINDLY RESPOND TO THIS REPORT IF YOU ARE STILL ALIVE IF NOT THEN WE WILL
ASSUME THAT THE REPORT IS REAL AND GO AHEAD AND RELEASE THE PAYMENT TO HIM.

KINDLY RECONFIRM THE FOLLOWINGS AS A MATTER OF URGENCY,

1. YOUR FULL NAMES
2. YOUR HOME OR OFFICE ADDRESS.
3. YOUR DIRECT CELL PHONE NUMBER
4. SCAN COPY OF YOUR ID AS PROOF THAT YOU ARE STILL ALIVE.

REGARDS,
MRS NATALIE BARNSWELL

Anti-fraud resources: