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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: "Michael Hane" <m_hane@hotmail.com> (may be fake)
Reply-To: michaelhane@zwallet.com
Date: Fri, 22 Apr 2005 15:03:18 +0100
Subject: Serious Investor Contact Me Urgently

Hello,

Investment Opportunity.


My name is Mr. Michael Hane and I work with a trading company but I manage the rep. office in London. I have in my custody $6.240 million dollars that accrued from import proceeds and it's been in my custody for years. I need an experienced investor who can turn this money over within one or two years time and return the principal back after then. May be more agreement could be reached to extend the investment period if all things goes well. The money is being deposited with a finance company in Madrid Spain (KISAC). The finance company's contact details will be given to you for further communication on the way forward. Please you must be well experienced in business and it demands CONFIDENTIALITY as I'm trying to use a good opportunity within my reach to make a living.
Please understand the position of this transaction before you indicate interest. You can call me on 44- 7867662634. Thanking you for your understanding. Expecting your immediate response.
Regards,
Michael Hane.




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