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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.

Click here to report a problem with this page.

 

 

Some comments by the Scam-O-Matic about the following email:

Fraud email example:

From: "Mchenry Stevenson" <mhstevenson16@msn.com>
Reply-To: mhstevenson16@yahoo.co.uk
Date: Thu, 05 Jan 2006 13:43:31 +0000
Subject: BUSINESS CO-OPERATION

Hello,


Do accept my sincere apology if my mail does not meet your personal ethics.
I am, by introduction, the Managing Director of our Bank here in the United
Kingdom and my name is Mr. Mchenry Stevenson.

One of our accounts at the headquarters with holding balance of
17,500,000(Seventeen Million Five Hundred Thousand British Pounds) has been
dormant and has not been operated for the past 5 years. From my
investigations and Confirmations, the owner of this account a foreigner by
name Austin Mckaye died in August 2000 and since then nobody has done
anything as regards the claiming of this money because he has no family
members who are aware of the existence of neither the account nor the funds.
Also information From the National Immigration states that he was also
single on entry into the UK.

I must tell you at this junction that i was intimated of this whole affair
by my bank chairman, board of directors who is a confidant and a close
personal friend. He has mandated me in confidence to look out for a reliable
foreign partner to deal with. We thus propose to do business with you,
standing in as the next of kin of these funds from the deceased and funds
will then be released to you after due processes have been followed. You
will be required to provide a bank account to receive these funds. We can
use your existing bank account or you may establish a fresh account for this
purpose, even an empty bank account will do. Only ensure it is an account
that you have full control over. I, as an insider, will guide you through
all official procedure till the final remmittance of the total inheritance
fund into your nominated offshore account.
Thereafter at the end of a successful transfer,we (the chairman, you and my
humble self) will share the funds at a ratio to be discussed and agreed upon
later. I am hoping that you will indeed prove trustworthy and reliable,
however I intend to transfer only 7.5 million pounds first and when you have
proved your capability in handling this, will then transfer the balance of
10 million.

Note that this is legitimate as the funds does not originate from drug,
money laundry, terrorism or any other illegal act, all that is required here
to ensure success is commitment, sincerity and ability and willingness to
handle this with utmost confidentiality.

Admittedly, transactions of this magnitude will definitely incure some
financial expense, especially as the account has become dormant having been
untouched since August year 2000. I have actually done a feasibility study
and i am sure it will take something in the region of 35 to 50 thousand US
dollars to see it through. This will include cost of international transfer
(COT) all legal charges, account reactivation fee and others. But this
should not be any worry for you as i will arrange to have some of the
expenses covered so that you do not have to spend much of your personal
money upfront. All these will depend greatly on your readiness and
willingness to be straightforward, sincere and reliable all through this
transaction.
I am hoping that you will not disappoint me now or in the future. Note that
at the end of a successful transfer of the initial 7.5 million pounds, i
will come over to your country for my share. And also at the end of a
successful transfer of the balance 10 million, i will also come over for our
share and possible investment in your country.

On receipt of this mail, reach me if you are willing to do this with me,i
will in turn give you further details on modalities to ensure a hitch-free
transfer.
And if you think you do not want to spend any of your personal money in
financing this upfront, also let me know so that i will immediately arrange
to have money sent to you to cover expenses. Do include your private phone
numbers for more confidential discussions on your response.
You may also send me some form of concrete identification like the data page
of your international passport or driver's license just to know you better.
I wait to hear from you soonest.

Sincere Regards,
Mchenry Stevenson

DISCLAIMER: This message contains confidential
information and is intended only for the specified
addressee. If you are not the named addressee,
you should not disseminate, distribute or copy this
e-mail. The sender therefore does not accept liability
for any actions that may be visited upon an
unauthorized third party. Please note that we reserve
the right to monitor and read any emails sent and
received under the Telecommunications (Lawful Business
Practice,Interception of Communications) Regulations
2000 ONLY. You are therefore strongly advised in your
interest to completely delete if you are not the intended addressee.


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