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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: Alfonso Williams <linfons.william@r7.com>
Reply-To: linfons.william@aol.com
Date: Wed, 26 Feb 2014 17:40:06 -0300
Subject: Re: Rsp sir

Hello dearest

Please permit our introduction. I am Alfonso Williams and my sister
name is Linda. I am 19 years old while my little sister is 15 years
old. We are from Republic of Sierra Leone. We want to do investment
in your country and at the same time further our education. We are
writing to seek your kind help and advice. I found your contact
address through my late father's international business directory and
I decided to contact you to seek your kind assistance in helping us to
relocate to your country for further studies and for investment of the
money we inherited from our late father. We lost our parents few
months ago in a ghastly motor accident. My mother died instantly when
the accident happened but my father sustained a very severe injury
which resulted to his untimely death four days after he was rushed
down to a private hospital. May there soul rest in perfect peace. My
late father spent his whole life in the building and construction
industry as an engineer. Shortly before this unfortunate incident, my
father had informed me about an important business deal he had
executed with some of his colleagues in the office. He told me that he
diverted some money totaling eight million three hundred thousand
dollars which they realized from the execution of some government
contracts that was awarded to them. He told me that he deposited the
money in the bank in Abidjan Cote d’Ivoire.

Now we want to finally relocate to your country with this money so
that we can invest it properly and further our education. We are now
in Abidjan Cote d’Ivoire and have succeeded in locating the bank
where my late father deposited the money and have identified ourselves
properly and also informed them about the sad fate my family had
suffered. All the efforts we made to have the money were not fruitful
because of our age, limited status and the conditions attached to the
deposit. The bank said that my late father deposited the money in
their bank escrow account for safe keep. We will need your help in the
following ways, to help us stand as our guardian and as our late
father's overseas business partner over this money so that the bank
will release and transfer the money to you and also bring us over to
your country to continue our college education and then make
arrangement for a good business investment which you will invest with
the money on our behalf. I hope with your help we will have the money
successfully transferred to your bank account and we will have a
better life to live in your country under your guardianship.

It is true that we do not know you in person but i pray and hope that
you have it in your heart to assist us with all sincerity and honesty.
You will guild us and invest the money and manage the investment until
we are capable. Please if you can help us, i will want you to send
your contact information that the bank can use to contact you so that
i can make your name available to the bank as our guardian overseas
that will receive the money on our behalf. We are willing to give you
any amount which you will wish to have after receiving the money in
your safe bank account. Thank you and May God bless you and your
family as you help us achieve our dream of relocating to your country
to start a new life and further our education under your guardianship.

Sincerely
Alfonso and Linda




















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