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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: Sgt Mark Edwards <farrahmalik40@gmail.com>
Reply-To: sgtmarked11982@gmail.com
Date: Tue, 28 Sep 2021 01:48:13 -0700
Subject: Can I Trust you?

Hello,

I am Sergeant Mark Edwards of the U.S. Army 2nd Brigade, 25th
Infantry Division stationed in Afghanistan.

Please grant me the benefit of the doubt and hear me out. I want to
inform you that I have in my possession right now the sum of (Twenty
Five Million Dollars) we recovered it from the Taliban’s stronghold
hideout and the United States Military will soon pull out completely
from Afghanistan therefore I have to act very fast before time runs
out.

To escape military awareness, I decided to lodge the money at the
United Nations Security Vault pending when I get a reliable Partner
who will receive the Fund on my behalf. While depositing the money I
declared the real content of the METAL TRUNK BOX (Consignment) as
Family Valuable Treasure. Everything is legal. I have made a concrete
arrangement to move the funds out of Afghanistan through Remittance
Channel.

The most important Question is, Can I Trust you? I will offer you 40
percent and 60 percent share for me.If you are interested I will
furnish you with more details upon receipt of your response.

I need a straight answer; YES OR NO. If yes, then let's work together
and let me have your contact details. There is no time to waste. I
must complete this before we the (U.S. Army) complete pull out process
from this country. Already we have started pulling out slowly.

Get back to me with your Full names. Physical address. Occupation and
Mobile numbers for proper filing and processing.
I trust you and hope you will never let me down.

Please reply to: sgtmarked11982@gmail.com

Yours Sincerely,
Sergeant Mark Edwards

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