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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: "Mrs. Katelin Williams" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <private4katewilliams@live.com>
Date: Wed, 3 Aug 2011 17:51:55 -0700
Subject: Please do not ignore this message is very important

Good Day Friend,
I have a Transaction needed Urgent attention as I am contacting you again after my partner said to have written you severally before now without heared from you, we only need your assistance as a Foreigner to complete the transaction for our betterment and you should understand that it is only a day that people meet and become good friends/business partners.

I am working as an administrative Secretary to one private Consignments Storage Company located in
Accra-Ghana. Having worked for this firm for more than Ten years and within the period, I have watched with meticulously precision how African Heads of States, government functionaries, Foreign Contractors and owners of Inherited consignments have been using our firm to move huge sums of money in USD, Pound sterling, Euro and Gold to their foreign collaborators.

They bring in these consignments of RAW CASH but encoded and declared the contents to be either gold, diamond, precious stones and family treasure, there are hundreds of consignments deposited under our vault, and most of the depositors are now dead but their Consignments lying here Unclaimed for over past 10 to 15 years without no one coming for claims.

Recently the board of directors of our Firm resolved that any over stayed deposited Trunk Boxes be disposed and destroyed before October 2011, to pave way in accommodating incoming items for the year 2012. It was on this development I met with our Vault Manager who is in charge of all deposited Consignments in our Vault and we reached an accord before secretly retrieved (2) Trunk Boxes in pretense to take them out for destroying as mandated by the Management.

As I am writing this message to you we have kept the two consignments into a safety place where no one can lay hand on them, while waiting to relocate them. The good news was, we took these Items to where it was run electronic Scanning and only to find out their contents to be image of money in US Dollars and is 100 Bills Note,running into MILLIONS OF UNITED STATES DOLLARS, though we did not disclose this findings to our Management or any of our staff only kept it to ourselves.

Now we needed assistance of you as a foreigner to receive the Funds on our behalves while we resign and come over for sharing it with you and use our share for Investment in your Country. We have to make arrangement with a diplomatic Company that will be delivery the Consignments direct to your doorstep in your Country while one of us will come over there to first meet with you once you confirm the arrival.

Most important is to heard from you if capable to handle this transaction with maturity and without being greed, also upon your good response, we shall discuss the sharing ratio between both parties involved and I personally assuring you that you will have a course to smile at the conclusion of this transaction as it is very secure and risk free only that all we needed is your word and sincerity.

More so, this transaction has been hatched for the past months now do get back to us as quick as possible for more details.

Thanks and God bless

Mrs. Katelin Williams


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