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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: Mrs Helen Keffe <mrshelenkeffe@live.com>
Reply-To: mrshelenkeffe@yahoo.com
Date: Thu, 10 Mar 2011 17:38:54 -0800 (PST)
Subject: Attn:Ludwig


My Name is Mrs.  Helen Keffe, Please i grave your Indulgence.
 
Permit me to inform you of my desire to introduce to you into this humanitarians work. I decided to do this after praying over the situation. You should please consider the transaction on its content and not the fact that you have not known me before.

I need not dwell on how I came by your contact information because there are many such possibilities these days. I would like to introduce myself as
 
Mrs.  Helen Keffe, of Republic of Benin , A widow to Late Dr. David Keffe (former Counselor of the Benin Embassy in Madrid , Spain . I have been recently diagnosed of Cancer of the Pelvic. I am writing to you now from my sick bed here in the hospital.
 
There is us$16.M (Sixteen Million United States Dollars) my husband has in a bank in ( BENIN ) of which I am the next of kin. With my health condition and because my husband and I have no child, I decide to contact you so that I will pass the right of next of kin to you.
 
This is on the condition that you will take only 35% of the fund for yourself, 5% for any expenses, while you will use the remaining 60% for the less privileges people in the society.
 
This is in fulfillment of the last request of my late husband: that a substantial part of the fund be used to carter for the less privilege people, If this condition is acceptable to you, you should contact me immediately with your full names and contact information's so that I will have the trust to pass the right of next of kin to you.
 
I cannot predict what will be my fate by the time the fund will be transferred into your account, but you should please ensure that the fund is used as I have described above. Please call my doctor at +229 96-18-38-83 to speak to me.
Yours Faithfully,
Mrs. Helen Keffe



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