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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: "Micheal Bashir" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <michealbashir@live.com>
Date: Mon, 29 Jul 2013 03:51:06 -0700
Subject: Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ

Dearest Beloved,

I know that this letter might be a surprise to you, I came across your email
contact from my personal search and I instructed the doctor here in this
hospital to help me email you and I believe that you will be honest to fulfill
my final wish before I will die.

I am Mrs Ruth Smith from Belgium , I am 78 years old, I am deaf and suffering
from a long time cancer of the breast. From all indication my condition is
really deteriorating, and my doctor have courageously advised me that I may
not live beyond the next two months, this is because the cancer stage has
reached a critical extent, of which I am having difficulties unable to move my
entire body. I was brought up in a motherless baby's home, and was married to
my late husband for twenty years without a child.

My husband and I are true Christians, we lived all day in Sierra Leone, since
he was working here as a contractor, but quite unfortunately,he died in a
fatal motor accident.Since his death I decided not to re-marry and because of
my bad state of health,I sold all my inherited belongings and deposited all
the sum of $28.3million dollars with a Barclays Bank plc Newton Yorkshire, United
Kingdom.

Presently, this money is still in the Bank, and the management of the Bank
wrote a letter to me to come forward to receive the money or issue a letter of
authorization to somebody to receive it on my behalf since I can not come over
as a result of my present cancer illness situation, otherwise they get it
confiscated. Presently, I'm with my laptop computer in a hospital where I have
been undergoing treatment. I have since lost my ability to talk and my doctor
have told me that I have only a few months to live.

It is my last wish to see that this money is invested in any organization of
your choice and distributed each year among the charity organization, the poor
and the motherless baby's home where I grew up from. I want your good
humanitarian,to also use this money to fund churches, orphanages and widows
around.

Please make sure %70 of this fund must go to the needy such as Motherless
Babies Home, churches, and Orphanage. While %30 is for you and your family for
your hand work. Please do as directed and do not let me down.

I must let you know that this was a very hard decision, but I had to take a
bold step towards this issue because I have no further option. I hope you will
help see my last wishes to come true.

As soon as I receive your reply I shall give you the contact of my account officer to
work and source for the required necessary and legal paper to proof you as the
accredited person I sent to receive the fund presently at the Barclays Bank plc,
United Kingdom. I will also issue a letter of authorization to the bank, which will prove that you are the rightful beneficiary of my funds. Please assure me that you will act accordingly as I stated herein. Hope to hear from you soonest.

I await your immediate and urgent response my beloved via this e-mail
address: mrsruths1@myself.com

Yours in Christ,
Mrs Ruth Smith.

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