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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: "Mr Peter Smith" <peter_smith@mail.bulgaria.com> (may be fake)
Date: Mon, 22 Nov 2004 22:28:10 +0000
Subject: Trust

Dear friend,

My name is Mr Peter Smith and I seek your co-operation in a proposal that I am convinced is mutually rewarding.
I work as a private Financial Consultant/Account portfolio Manager in Finance & Credit Company Limited a company based in Middlesex in the United Kingdom.In the last few years, I have managed a certain account for a Resident Foreigner here in the United Kingdom who unfortunately died intestate, leaving in our care a fairly huge amount of money in a Domiciliary United States Dollars Account. We had unsuccessfully tried to make contact with any relatives of this client over the last couple of months. Added to this , professional ethics which obligates us to act with extreme confidentiality when dealing with clients Accounts of this type has made it impossible to get round the problem of identifying a next-of ?kin in this situation. Needless to say, this is the precise reason why I have made contact with you.
I URGENTLY require your assistance in securing the estate left behind by my client as any time from now it may be declared unserviceable and consequently confiscated by the Financial Services Authority(FSA) here in the United Kingdom where his estate is held Indeed the FSA has issued a MANDATORY NOTICE demanding us to provide (within the next month) a next-of-Kin to my client?s Estate or have same reserved to the protection of Her Majesty.

Having made futile attempts in locating any of my Client?s relatives for over two years and convinced that no one would turn up to execute a Letter of Administration, and having satisfied all legal requirements of Beneficiary/next-of-Kin Notification, I do seek your consent to put you forward and present you as the next-of ?Kin of my deceased client so that proceeds from his Estate(Valued conservatively at Twenty one Million, Three Hundred and Twenty Thousand United States Dollars) can be paid into an account to be provided by your good-self(preferably outside the United Kingdom financial institutions or its Isles)

Do be assured that I am seized of all relevant documents to validate our claim presenting you as next-of-Kin and all we will do shall be within the confines of all/any UK regulating Statutes. All I ask is your co-operation and trust as we go through the various stages that will legally qualify you as the only living next-of-Kin to the Estate of my client.

Of course you shall be handsomely rewarded for your involvement in this transaction and all I can say at this time is that the figures will be worth every effort and commitment that you will bring into this transaction.
Do get back to me on my private e-mail: peter_smith22000@yahoo.de On receipt of your response , I shall provide you with a dedicated private telephone number with which we shall speak and upon which I shall furnish you with finer details of this transaction
Yours sincerely.

Mr Peter Smith



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