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

Fraud email example:

From: Mike Ellis <mi.el2@msn.com>
Reply-To: <mm55ee55@yahoo.com.hk>
Date: Sat, 27 Sep 2008 04:14:21 +0000
Subject: HBOS United Kingdom (Legitimate Offer) Call +44



From: Mike EllisGroup Finance Director,Treasury & Insight.HBOS United Kingdom.+(44)70111-38824Good day,I am Mr. Mike Ellis, the Group Finance Director, Treasury & Insight HBOS United Kingdom. I personally discovered a dormant account with a total sum of $75,000,000.00 [SEVENTY FIVE MILLION UNITED STATE DOLLARS] during our Bank's Annual Year Account Auditing.The owner of this dormant account died on 4th Jan 2002. Since the death of the deceased, nobody has operated in this account till date. Moreover, this account has NO BENEFICIARY attached to it. Definitely, this fund will be confiscated by our BANKING CODE OF ETHICS if it remains dormant for a period of [7] years without any claims. In this regard, I earnestly need your full cooperation in transferring this dormant fund out of our bank to avoid confiscating this fund. I will split the transfer into two 2 stages for easy and smooth transfer of the fund to your foreign a/c.First, I will transfer $5,000,000.00 USD to any valid foreign account you will nominate, upon a successful transfer without any disappointment from your side; I will fly to meet you in your home destination for sharing, thereafter we jointly transfer the remaining balance of $70,000,000.00 USD for big investments.If you are willing to cooperate in this project, Call me 004470-111-38824 for more details. Send Reply to my private mailbox: M5ellis@yahoo.com OR M5ellis@hotmail.comYours truly,Mr. Mike Ellis

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