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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: "Kristine Wellenstein" <postmaster@visuallink.com>
Reply-To: simonhei47@gmail.com
Date: Mon, 15 Apr 2024 01:14:12 -0900
Subject: Congratulations

Hello , I've emailed you several times because my foundation has chosen you to receive a $2.5 million dollars cash donation for my charity project in which I won a fortune of $426 million Mega Millions jackpot on January 28th. Your name and email address came out victorious. When you get this email, please get in touch with me ASAP for more details and the claiming process.

Best wishes,
Mrs. Kristine Wellenstein
Copyright ©?2024 The Wellenstein Foundation. All Rights Reserved

Anti-fraud resources: