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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: "Mrs Amin El-Kara" <info@avantel.ru>
Reply-To: mrsaminelkar@aol.com
Date: 21 Oct 2022 06:19:27 -0700
Subject: ARE YOU DEAD OR ALIVE? PLEASE READ BELOW TO KNOW WHY THE QUESTION...

I'm Mrs Amin El-Kara, from the California express courier service. We wish to urgently confirm from you if actually you know one JULIE Kennerly White, who claims to be your business associate/partner. Kindly reconfirm this application put in by JULIE Kennerly White - She submitted the under listed Name and Address information supposedly sent by you as your Next of Kin to receive your Consignment box on your behalf.
 
 
Account Name: JULIE Kennerly White
 
Address: 25354 Holton Ridge Dr Katy Texas 77494
 
 
The said JULIE Kennerly White has claimed to this office that you died on a motor accident and have Instructed that all relevant documentation/Information regarding your parcel, be changed to her as the beneficiary of your package,I need to confirm from you by responding in the next 48 hours if it's really true that you are dead as made mention by your Associate.
 
 
You should note that, if we do not hear from you in the next 48 hours, we automatically assume that you are actually dead and the information passed to us by JULIE Kennerly White is correct. Hence, you are hereby requested to reply this Email immediately for confirmation.
 
 
Your quick response will help us a lot.
 
 
Yours, Sincerely,
Mrs Amin El-Kara

Anti-fraud resources: