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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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Fraud email example:

From: "Bersson David Lawrence" <bersson_lawrence@yahoo.com> (may be fake)
Reply-To: berssonlawrence@yahoo.com
Date: Wed, 27 Jul 2005 17:26:45 +0200
Subject: From Dr.Bersson David Lawrence

Dearest, My name is Dr.Bersson David Lawrence, a medical doctor and the sole proprietor of a specialist hospital here in London. I have a patience here in my clinic who is suffering from Cancer of the Lungs, he has been so ill for some couple of months now. This man confided in me based on the free medical attention I have been given to him. He had revealed to me of his life history and about his late wife who was a top officer in one of the Asian country (INDIA) before her death during the Tsunami Disaster and the fortune he inherited from his late wife. He has asked me to source a credible and trustworthy partner abroad who will manage his funds for investment, the sum of Eighteen Million US Dollars (US$18m) which his late wife deposited in a safe Fiduciary Security finance company in Europe. I wish to choose you for this venture and I believe you will be in the position to assist in managing this large sum in a profitable venture and also to he!
lp create a safe heaven for him and his children by making a residence arrangement for them in your country. After he had disclosed this information to me; I saw the reason to request from him to allow me see the documents relating to this deposit of which he did, now I have the documents covering the deposit which I will not hesitate to fax to you the copies as a prove for your confirmation as soon as I receive your response via email. I am obliged to assist this man knowing too well that he has a limited time to live in this world and as such he can not manage this funds himself and in Asia in order to avoid any trace of him by the Government, I will need from you a mutual understanding and then we shall make plans on how the funds would be secured into an account in your name; after which you will arrange and travel immediately to meet with the security finance company Agent in Europe for clearing. This amount is contained in a sealed trunk box and it is re!
gistered and declared as containing family treasures, so even as I a
m writing you now the security finance company and its Agent is not aware that there is cash money in the trunk. Let me assure you that this transaction is 100% hitch - free and risk free. From my discussion with him, he has agreed to give you a reasonable amount of percentage for your involvement in this and this has to be discussed upon the receipt of your quick response, you can reach me with this number (+447040114624). Do not forget to include your telephone and fax numbers while replying to this message. I await your quick response. Thanks and God bless for your understanding, Sincere regards, Dr Bersson David Lawrence.


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