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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: Thomas Milerr <tmllerfamilys01@gmail.com>
Reply-To: tmillerfamilys@outlook.com
Date: Tue, 13 Jan 2015 06:45:22 -0600
Subject: Request for family help

>From Mr. Thomas Miller
Johannesburg, South Africa
Telephone: + 27 71 0252970
Fax Number: +27 86 7195237
Email:tmillerfamilys@outlook.com


Attn, Friends

I am aware that you will be surprised at the receipt of this inquiry from me. First of all, I am Mr. Thomas Miller, the son of Mr. Johnson Miller a citizen of Zimbabwe. I got your information during my search for a reliable and God-fearing person that can assist my family carry out investment undertakings to the volume of (USD20.5M) in your county.

The above amount represents proceeds from sale of my late father’s landed property in Zimbabwe. My late father was a famous farmer in Zimbabwe and was assassinated by forces loyal to President Robert Mugabe following the terrible crisis that resulted from his Land Use Reform Policy, which has left thousands of Zimbabweans (including white farmers) dead or displaced.

My late father sensed these terrible developments and quickly sold his farm lands including other landed properties of the family and secretly sent and lodged the proceeds (USD$20.5M) with a private security company in South Africa, a neighboring country. It is important to state here that my late father secured the funds in a deposit box and declared content of the box as “family valuables”.

He also designated the deposit box as “transit”, meaning its final destination is abroad. This means that the security company is not aware that actual content of the deposit box is money. This was for obvious security reasons. It will be important here to inform you that due to our political status in South Africa (Refugees), we are not allowed by law to invest the money in South Africa. This is why we are seeking the assistance of a foreigner to receive the money on behalf of my family for investment purposes.

Please be informed that my family has appointed a certain banker by profession, a South African, who has been a friend to my family even before my father’s death, to co-ordinate the processes leading to transfer of the funds to you. He has already drawn up the execution schedule, details of which he will oblige you upon your indication of acceptance. If you are interested to help my family in this regard, we shall give you 25% of the principal amount. Apart from this, we shall also make you a partner in all the investments we shall undertake in your country.

Lastly, I want to inform you that this money represents my family’s future, as we do not have any other thing left for us. So, in addition to our requirement for your confidential handling of this transaction, we would also need an assurance from you that the funds will be safe when received in your account. Further details will be given to you by our financial adviser immediately you indicate interest. You may contact me on my private e-mail address:

May God bless you as you accept to assist my family with this request?

Best Regards,

Thomas Miller for the family


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