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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: "Thompson Frank & Associate Chambers" <thompsonfrank_chambers@zipmail.com.br> (may be fake)
Reply-To: thompsonfrankass_chambers@voila.fr
Date: Thu, 2 Dec 2004 15:16:28 +0100
Subject: GREETINGS,PLEASE REPLY ASAP

Thompson Frank & Associate Chambers
12/15 Creek Road,
Apapa-Apapa,
Lagos-Nigeria.

Dear Sir/Madam

I am Thompson Frank, a Solicitor. I am the Personal Attorney to (Mr.Robert
Norton) who used to work with Agip Oil Company in Nigeria. On the 21st of April, 2002, Mr/Mrs.Robert Norton and their three children were involved in a car accident along Abuja Express Road.

Unfortunately, they all lost their lives in the event of the accident. Since then I have made several enquiries to your Embassy to locate any of my client?s relatives, this has also proved unsuccessful. After these several unsuccessful attempts, I decided to trace his relatives over the Internet to locate any member of his family but to no avail, hence, I contacted you to assist in repatriating the money left behind by my client in Sentinel Global Finance Security Company.

Particularly, the deceased deposited the US$15 Million (Fifteen Million United States Dollars only)In the Finance Company.

Consequently, this Finance Company issued me a notice to provide the Next of Kin to claim the US$15 Million (Fifteen Million United States Dollars only) in their custody within the next ten official working days. Since I have been unsuccessful in locating the relatives for over 2 years now, I seek your consent to present you as the next of kin of the deceased to claim the fund as the Next of Kin to him so that the fund will be transferred to your account by the Finance Company.

Upon receipt of the fund, I will come over to your country to meet with you for the disbursement of the fund and then you and I will share the money in this order: 70% will be for me, 30% will be for you. I have all the necessary legal documents that can back our claim we may make with the Finance Company.

As you may like to know Mr./MrsRobert Norton was a retiree from Lubec in U.S All I require is your honest co-operation to enable us seeing this deal through. I guarantee that this will be executed under a legitimate arrangement that will protect you from any breach of the law.

Reply ASAP Email: thompsonfrankass_chambers@voila.fr

Best regards.
Barrister Thompson Frank
Principal Attorney
IN GOD I THRUST


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