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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: "godwin omaobi" <godwinomaobi01@hotmail.com>
Reply-To: godwinomaobi@yahoo.ie
Date: Wed, 21 Sep 2005 13:53:38 +0000
Subject: From The Desk Of Mr Godwin Omaobi:

From The Desk Of Mr Godwin Omaobi:

ATTN:

Please do accept my sincere apology if my mail does not meet your personal
ethics. I am the internal Auditor of the NIGERIA NIGER DEVELOPMENT
COMMISSION (NNDC). In the process of auditing and cross-checking the
financial status of the commission, I discovered a payment file of an
outstanding contract payment of THIRTY-FIVE MILLION UNITED STATES DOLLAR
(USD35M). From my further investigation, this amount is overdue for payment
and information has it that the person entitled for this money (a foreigner
Mr Morris Jackson), Is dead and he has no family member who is aware of
this.



Meanwhile, I have secretly collected all the information relating to this
outstanding contract payment and decided to find a reliable foreign partner
to ASSIST ME. I thus propose to do business with you, Standing in as the
next of kin to the deceased so that this fund can be released to you after
due processes have been followed. On your indication of interest, please get
back to me through email for further information



Regards,

Mr Godwin Omaobi


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