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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: "martyn philo" <martyn2p@hotmail.com>
Reply-To: martynp2005@yahoo.com
Date: Sat, 30 Apr 2005 11:04:47 +0200
Subject: URGENT........

Zulberg Closeoff
Ernest Oppenheimer
Road Bruma Lake,
Johannesburg,2196
South Africa.

Satelite phone no.
+874-763-593-730.
+874-763-593-730

DEAR SIR,

( RE: TRANSFER OF ($125,000.000.00 USD )
ONE HUNDRED & TWENTY FIVE MILLION DOLLARS


I want to transfer ($125,000.000.00 USD) One Hundred & Twenty five million
United States Dollars from a Prime Bank here in South Africa to an oversea
account.First, I must solicit your strictest confidence in this transaction.
This is by virtue of it's nature as being utterly confidential.

I am sure and have confidence of your ability and reliability to prosecute a
transaction of this great magnitude. I solicit your assistance to enable us
transfer the said amount into your safe account for unward investment.You
can either provide us with an existing account or to set up a new Bank
account immediately to receive this money, even an empty a/c can serve to
receive this money, as long as you will remain honest to me till the end of
this important business trusting in you and believing that you will never
let me down either now or in future.

I am the personal account officer to the great late INDUSTRIALIST who has an
account in one of the top banks here in South Africa. The account was opened
in 1998 and he died in 2003 without a written or oral WILL and since 2003
nobody has operated on this account again hence the money is floating and if
I do not remit this money out urgently it will be forfeited for nothing.

The owner of this account is a foreigner and no other person knows about
this account or anything concerning it, the account has no other beneficiary
and until his death he was the manager of the company.My investigation
through the National immigration department proved to me as well that he was
single as at the time of his entry into the Republic of South Africa. The
amount in this account is USD$125 Million ( One Hundred & Twenty five
Million United States Dollars ) only.

As a matter of fact, I have decided to transfer this fund abroad for
investment. Your assistance as a foreigner is necessary because the
management of the bank will welcome any foreigner who has correct
information to this account which I will give to you immediately, if you
are interested to do this business with me.There is no risk in this
business. With my position and my personal contact with the manager of the
bank, the money can be transferred to any account you can provide with
assurance that this money will be intact pending our physical arrival in
your country for sharing.

We will start the first transfer with Twenty five million [$25,000.000].
Upon successful transfer
without any disappointment from your side, we shall re-apply for the
payment of the remaining balance of $100 Million to your account. I am only
contacting you as a foreigner because this money can not be approved to a
local person here, but can only be approved to any foreigner who has the
correct information of the account which I will provide for you.

So you should provide me with your correct account detail where you will
like the fund to be transferred or you can set up a new account for the
transfer even an empty account is ok. At the conclussion of the transfer
you will take 35%,5% will be for any expenses both parties incurred in the
process of this business and the remaining 60% will be for me. As soon as I
hear from you and upon your strong assurance that you will not let me down
once the fund goes into your
account I will then start the processing of the transfer of the fund to
your account without further
delay.

Contact me urgently via telephone or email for further details.

Thanks.

Yours Faithfully,
Mr.Martyn Philo.

_________________________________________________________________
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