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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: "Clarkson Wright & Jakes LLP" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <barrjohnscott@w.cn>
Date: Tue, 18 Oct 2011 23:00:59 -0400
Subject: Be My Partner

Clarkson Wright & Jakes LLP
Solicitors and Notaries
Valiant House, 12 Knoll Rise,
Orpington, Kent, BR6 0PG
 
Attention:
 
Your identity and contact was made known to me in my uncompromising quest to successfully locate the next of kin to a
 
customer’s account file which was forwarded to my desk for liquidation as the account as being dormant for over 20years
 
now. I am Barrister John Scott  the Head of Legal Department NATWEST Bank, London. It is my statutory responsibility
 
to see that any unclaimed account resulting from demise of account holder is certified and confirmed “UNCLAIMED
 
“before final liquidation instruction is passed on any such account file as enshrined into my corporation code of conduct
 
as a policy.
 
In view of the above explanation concerning my responsibility/obligation in carrying out my duty, I was constrained to
 
make contact with you because an account holder’s file is due for liquidation, and it’s currently valued at US$76,
 
300,000.00 (seventy-six million, three hundred thousand United States dollars was forwarded to my office for final search
 
of next of kin to the deceased account holder. This account was last operated in April 1991, and my corporation has
 
undergone several mergers with new investors of our shares, and most recently has oblige to another acquirer of our
 
majority shares to meet up with new guide line from the apex of England.
 
After an extensive search for the next of kin to the account holder through pay advertorials and publications, our efforts
 
were proved abortive. I also have, on my personal capacity tried to locate the next of kin to this account but all to no avail.
 
Even, I have contacted the embassies for help, still no results. During all the search exercise for the next of kin, I came
 
across your identity. Coincidentally, you hail from the same country of the account holder in question. And that is the
 
major reason for my contacting you for a special business arrangement.
 
I have been mandated to provide a next of kin to this account or have the account confiscated within thirty official work-
 
days starting the first day of this publication.
 
On that note, I would like to use this opportunity to make a confidential transaction proposal to you that will be beneficial
 
to both of us as follows: -
 
1. We both shall work together on this file, and I will use my official capacity to front you as the next of kin to this account
 
file, avail you with our the necessary information concerning this account file, and all other files relating to this account will
 
be amended to correspond with your personal data for our mutual benefit at the long run.
 
2. And as insider to the bank, I will be your lawyer here in London, UK, who will be standing in on your behalf while the
 
claim suit is going on. I will be directing the affairs of the claim suit from behind the scene.
 
3. Once the claim of the Account approval is granted to us in court by the virtue of you being the next of kin to the account,
 
we shall have the proceeds of the account shared/disbursed as follows:-{I} 80% to be shared equally between you and
 
me at the ratio (1:1), and the remaining 20% shall be kept aside for unforeseen or miscellaneous expenses in the course
 
of the execution of the transaction afterwards.
 
We might have to indulge in a bit of lobbying to scale through a few bureaucratic bottleneck procedures in the judiciary
 
and inside the bank to fasten to claim approval and also quicken the transfer of the funds in the account within the
 
shortest time interval.
 
All I require is your honest co-operation to enable us seeing this deal through. I guarantee that this will be executed under
 
a legitimate arrangement that will protect you from any breach of the Law. Upon your critical scrutiny of the above
 
mentioned proposal and the operational module.
I expect to hear from you as soon as possible.
 
Sincerely,
John Scott. Esq.
Managing Partner
Clarkson Wright & Jakes LLP

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