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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: "desmond tede" <desmond_tede@hotmail.com>
Date: Thu, 15 Dec 2005 00:21:53 +0000
Subject: I CRAVE YOUR INDULGENCE TO READ THIS MAIL.

                                                   
            CREDIT CONTROLS SECURITY AND  INVESTMENT BANK LTD
 
My dear,

Best compliments of season,

I am Mr. Desmond Tede, Deputy Manager, Credit Controls of Security and Investment Bank (SIB) Ltd, Lagos Nigeria. There is a very urgent business transaction that requires confidentiality and trust which I want you and I to handle as a joint business venture for our mutual benefit. But please assure me that you will be as honest as I read you to be. It is in my desperate attempt to find a way to handle this very urgent business, which has made me to contact you immediately I got your contact.

I therefore hasten to send you this very confidential and very
urgent business proposal. One of the Bank's foreign customers,
operated a fixed deposit in my bank . The total fixed amount was
US$20.5m (Twenty Million, five hundred Thousand United States
Dollars.) I served as his account officer. But at the maturity
period, I sent a routine notification to his forwarded address but
got no reply. After some months, the bank sent a reminder and
finally it was discovered from the Petrol-Chemical Company, Eleme Port Harcourt where he worked as contractor that he died in an automobile crash in November 2000 with his wife and two children. On further investigation, I was surprised to discover that he died without any Will.

We have made all efforts and attempts to trace any of his relation
but to no avail. Nor did he state any next of kin or relation in
all the official documents in my bank. This sum of US$20.5M is
still lying as dormant account in my bank. According to Nigerian
law, after five years, the money will revert to the ownership of
the Government if nobody comes forward to claim it. And I do not
want this money to go to Government Treasury. This is the
situation, and my intention now is to look for a foreigner who will
stand in as beneficiary and or next of kin to claim this money.
This is simple. All you have to do now is to provide me immediately details of your bank account for me to arrange the proper money transfer documents. The money will then be transferred into the account for you and I to share it and have it for ourselves. For your participation, you will have a total of 30% of the funds as your commission. If however, you are not satisfied with this percentage, you have the liberty to negotiate with me. In anticipation of any expenses that may come up in the course of the transaction either from your side or from my own side, 5% of the total sum has been set aside to take care of every expenses both from your side and from my side. You will then release the balance of 65% to me for my personal use.

I will use my position and connection in the bank here to do all
the paper work to enhance the transaction. Please reply immediately under strict confidentiality and be rest assured that this transaction is for our mutual benefit. Please do not expose this deal if you are not interested because if you do, it will cost me my job, and the whole 24 years I have worked in the Banking industry will be thrown down the drains. I am due for retirement very soon and that is why I want to do this immediately, to enable me to have enough money as I intend to run as a Senator in my country after retirement.

I await your urgent response and note that you are the only person I have contacted for now and any delay will make me to contact another person for the same transaction.

Thank you.

Mr. Desmond Tede
Security & Investment Bank, Ltd
Investment House Lagos, Nigeria

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