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Unsolicited email saying that you have money waiting from another country and it is being wired to by Western Union.

iRumorMill.com Determination: 419 or Nigeria Scam

This is one of the oldest scams on the Internet. It is called the "419 Scam" or "Nigeria Advance Fee Scam." It is a confidence trick and the number 419 refers to the article number that fraudulent crimes are listed in the Nigerian Criminal Code.

When the victim contacts the person who sent the email they are strung along in a lengthy process that includes sending some personal information. Just as every is looks like the funds are going to be sent to the victim another set of instructions are sent that say a small fee is required to cover legal or processing fees. By this time the victim is tired of the process that they send the funds over without question. After that, they never hear from the scammers again.

The FBI has an information page on how to identify and avoid such scams.  Click here for FBI page.

Posted 11/17/14

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