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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: ahmed_williams@zipmail.com.br
Date: Tue, 5 Apr 2005 17:54:11 +0200
Subject: =?iso-8859-1?Q?INHERITANCE=20ASSISTANCE=2E?=

FROM THE DESK OF DR.AHMED WILLIAMS.
BILL AND EXCHANGE MANAGER,
FOREIGN REMMITTANCE DEPARTMENT.
CONTINENTAL BANK BENIN(CBB)
COTONOU,REPUBLIC OF BENIN.WEST AFRICA.

Attn: My Dear,

I am the Manager of Bill and Exchange at the Foreign Remittance Department
Of CONTINENTAL BANK BENIN(CBB). I am writing following the impressive information
about you through an internet business proposal.

In my department I discovered an abandoned sum of $17.5M, Us dollars (Seventeen
Million Five Hundred thousand US Dollars) in an account that belongs to
one of our foreign customer who died along with his entire family in 30/JANUARY/2000
IN THE PASSENGER PLAN CRASH WITH KENYA AIRWAYS AIRBUS A310-304 5Y-BEN.IN
ABIDJAN-COTE D'IVOIRE(IVORY-COAST).

Since we got information about his death, we have been expecting his next
of kin to come over and claim his money because we can not release it unless
somebody applies for it as next of kin or relation to the decease as indicated
in our banking guidelines and laws, but unfortunately I learnt that all
his supposed next of kin or relation died along side with him at the plane
clash leaving nobody behind for the claim.

It is therefore upon this discovery that I decided to make this business
proposal to you and release the money to you as the next of kin or relation
to the deceased for safety and subsequent disbursement since nobody is coming
for it and I don't want this money to go into the bank treasury as unclaimed
bill. The banking law and guideline here stipulates that if such money remained
unclaimed after Five years, the money will be transferred into the bank
treasure as unclaimed fund. The request of a foreigner as next of kin in
this business is occasioned by the fact that the customer was a foreigner
and a Beninois cannot stand as next of kin to a foreigner.

I agree that 40% of this money will be for you as a foreign partner, in
respect to the provision of a foreign account, 10% will be set aside for
expenses incurred during the business and 50% will be for me.There after
I will visit your country for disbursement according to the percentages
indicated.

Therefore, to enable the immediate transfer of this fund to you as arranged,
you must apply first to the bank as relation or next of kin to the deceased
indicating your bank name, your bank account, your private telephone and
fax number for easy and effective communication and location where in the
money will be remitted.

Upon the receipt of your reply, I shall send to you by fax or email the
text of the application which you will tender to the bank management for
immediate transfer of the money to your account as the next of kin and beneficiary
of the deposit. I will not fail to bring to your notice that this business
is hitch-free and that you should not entertain any atom of fear as all
required arrangements have been made for the transfer.

You should contact me immediately as soon as you receive this letter on
my email ahmed_williams@excite.com

Trusting to hear from you immediately.

Yours faithfully,
Dr.Ahmed Williams.



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