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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: "larry edward" <larryeds1@hotmail.com>
Reply-To: mrlaryed@hotmail.ro
Date: Sat, 26 Nov 2005 14:31:37 +0000
Subject: Mutual Benefit

>From the Desk of:
MR. LARRY EDWARD

With great pleasure I, MR. LARRY EDWARD, an accountant I am writing you in
respect of a foreign customer a consultant/ with my Government, The
Depositor who's name I shall declare as soon as you indicate your interest
made a numbered time (Fixed) Deposit for twelve calendar months valued at
S$20,500,000.00 (Twenty Million five Hundred Thousand Dollars) in my
branch.

Upon maturity, I sent a routine notification to his forwarding address but
got no reply. After a month, we sent a reminder and finally we discovered
that he is no more. I therefore made further investigation and discovered
that he died without making a WILL and all attempts to trace his next of kin
was fruitless. Also, he did not declare any next of kin or relations in all
his official documents, including his Bank Deposit paperwork in my Bank.
This sum of US$20,500,000.00 is still sitting in my Bank and the interest is
being rolled over with the principal sum at the end of each year.

Since the demise of this our customer, I have personally watched the account
with keen interest to see the next of kin but all has proved abortive as no
one has come to claim his FIXED DEPOSIT fund of USD.$20.5million, [Twenty
Million five Hundred Thousand Dollars] which has been with my branch for a
very long time. Since his death, none of his next-of-kin or relations has
come forward to lay claims for this money as the heir.

Hence I have decided to seek your co-operation in this business deal due to
the sensitivity of this transaction. It may interest you to know that I am
only contacting you as a foreigner because this money cannot be approved to
a local Bank account here, but can only be approved to a foreigner with an
account since the money is in US Dollars. I have decided as a matter of
urgency upon this discovery now seek your permission to have you stand as
next of kin to the deceased as No one has ever come forward to claim this
fund. In accordance to Nigerian Law, fund deposited for a long period of
time without claim will be reverted to the Government treasury if nobody
applies to claim this fund after a long period of time. I want you to
co-operate with me I have secured from the probate an Order of Madamus to
locate any of deceased beneficiaries. Hence I am contacting you with this
proposal.

This is simple, I shall detail you as soon as I here from you.The Bank
cannot release the fund from his account unless (a foreigner)applies for
claim as the next-of-kin to the deceased as indicated in our banking
guidelines. I will appreciate your early reply for commencement of
business.Contact me as soon as possible by E-mail and whereby you are not
interested; please indicate in your reply so that I can seek for the
assistance of someone else.

Thanks for your expected co-operation and treat ASAP as your utmost Trust,
Honesty and Confidentiality will be highly appreciated in this business deal
transaction.

Thanks with great regards.

MR. Larry Edward.


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