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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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Fraud email example:

From: leonardsawyer@hotmail.com
Date: Thu, 21 Oct 2004 06:02:12 +0200
Subject: NEXT OF KIN NEEDED FOR CLAIMS

PRIVATE AND CONFIDENTIAL

ATTN: Sir,

I am Mr. Leonard Sawyer, an attorney at law. I am the personal attorney to a foreigner, Mr. Jamal, a citizen of your Country , who worked for the Petrochemical Support Services Company of South Africa. Hereinafter referred to as my client.

My client died of injuries sustained in a motor accident on the 16th of January, 1999. Since then I have made several inquiries to your Embassy to locate any of my clients extended relatives, but this has proved unsuccessful.

I have also visited your Country in search of his relatives early this year but still could not locate his relations. After these several unsuccessful attempts, I decided to contact you today privately as a total stranger, with hope that you are a reliable and trustworthy person, to help, or find a trustworthy individual that will assist and secretly secure the money left behind by my client before they get confiscated or declared unserviceable by his Bank since the mandatory five year waiting period allowed by South African law has expired. It is important that my contact be somebody who can in no way be identified with me in order to avoid suspicion of insider dealing.

Particularly, the Bank where the deceased had an Account valued at about $USD 24.5 Million Dollars has issued me an urgent notice yesterday to provide the next of kin or have the Account confiscated within 10 working days, hence this is why I am contacting you. Since I have been unsuccessful in locating the relatives, I seek your consent to present you as the next of kin of the deceased as you are also a foreigner(you just have to answer the same name with my client) so that the proceed of this Account valued at $USD 24.5 Million Dollars [twenty four million five hundred thousand united states dollars ),minus interest, can be paid to you and then you and me can share the money, 60% for me and 40% for you. You don’t need any experience to do this, I have all necessary legal documents that will be used to back up all claims we will make with your name.

All I require from you is your honest co-operation and full guarantee and assurance that you shall hand me over my 60% in good faith and also assist me in investing some of my share in a lucrative business in your country because I shall come over to your country immediately it is done.

I guarantee that this will be executed under a legitimate arrangement that will protect you from any breach of the law, making it 100% risk free on your side. Expecting to hear from you soonest, by return e-mail to leonardsawyer@hotmail.com, or alternatively, to this fax number: +27 11 5076430, so that we can commence action immediately.

Best regards and God bless you and your family.

I await your urgent response.

MR. Leonard Sawyer
(+27 731689344)

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