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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: "Mark Okpara" <markok45@yahoo.co.in> (may be fake)
Reply-To: mrkokpara@yahoo.co.in
Date: Fri, 4 Mar 2005 01:31:22 -0800
Subject: Consider this

Dear Sir/Madam,
Please direct your positive response for quick attention through this email address:markok@post.com
My name is Mark Okpara, a member of the committee set up by the Federal Government of Nigeria to supervise the activities of the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF), the agency that manages proceeds from the sale of crude oil in my country. At the inception of the new democratic government in my country, the Petroleum Trust Fund was ordered to wind up its operation to enable the new committee take over.
The former Chairman of the agency in the person of Major General Muhammed Buhari (Rtd.) was also retired. In its place a new committee in which I am a member was appointed to take over and oversee the activities of the agency. The duty of the committee amongst others includes verifying all outstanding contract claims and debts with the sole objective of settling such long overdue claims.
I therefore decided to contact you directly having gotten your name and company's information from a business handbook of your country I discovered in the former chairman's official study, which he left behind in his office. Going through some of the files left behind by the former chairman, we discovered that he has secured out of the Central Bank of Nigeria a forex release to the tune of US$25,500,000.00 for the payment of goods and services supplied by foreign contractors for the execution of KUBUWA WATER PROJECT in the oil rich Niger Delta.
He was trying to transfer the funds to a ghost company abroad when he was removed from office. In confidence, we know that the goods and services were not supplied but used his office to approve the payment in favour of a foreign firm with no fixed address.
He confided in me as a member of the new committee that he used his position to over invoice the contract. After his removal from office, this over invoiced amount is floating in the system and left unclaimed. He has therefore requested me to help look for a foreign company into whose account the funds will be transferred.
I am now soliciting for your cooperation to enable us process the transfer of the funds to your account. You should provide us your company's name or any other name as long as you will be able to receive the amount. It will be treated as one of the outstanding payments due to you on executed contract. We will take measure to duly register your company here in Nigeria to give it legitimacy.
We need your company's name and account particulars to enable us file application for foreign exchange allocation order at the Federal Ministry of Finance. The moment we accomplish this, we will raise Contract Award Certificate in your company's name to show that a contract was actually awarded and executed by you. The nature of your business does not matter.
For your participation and investing in this project, we are prepared to concede 25% of the total sum to you. On completion of the project, we will commit a substantial percentage of our share into investments in your country and we will direct you on how to repatriate the balance of our share.
I wish to state here again that confidentiality should be our watchword. If the above proposal meets your approval, please respond immediately. Endeavour to furnish me with your secured private telephone and fax line for easy reach through my emailaddress:markok@post.com
Regards,
Mark Okpara


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