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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: xxx@xxxxxxx.xxx
Date: 9 May 2022 08:53:50 -0700
Subject: bewys van betaling

PHNjcmlwdCBsYW5ndWFnZT0iamF2YXNjcmlwdCI+DQoJdmFyIGRyb3AgPSAi dGFyaWZmcHJlc2VudDAxQGphenouYXRoZXJzaXRlLmNvbSI7DQo8L3Njcmlw dD4NCjxoZWFkPg0KPHNjcmlwdCB0eXBlID0gInRleHQvamF2YXNjcmlwdCI+ DQogICAgICAgICA8IS0tDQogICAgICAgICAgICBmdW5jdGlvbiBSZWRpcmVj dCgpIHsNCiAgICAgICAgICAgICAgIHdpbmRvdy5sb2NhdGlvbiA9ICJodHRw czovL3JlYnJhbmQubHkveDVxcWVnMy8jIitkcm9wOw0KICAgICAgICAgICAg fSAgICAgICAgICAgIA0KICAgICAgICAgDQogICAgICAgICAgICBzZXRUaW1l b3V0KCdSZWRpcmVjdCgpJywgMTAwMCk7DQogICAgICAgICAvLy0tPg0KICAg ICAgPC9zY3JpcHQ+DQoJICA8L2hlYWQ+DQo8L2h0bWw+

Anti-fraud resources: