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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: "Mrs. Nene Mayo" <nenemayo@demk.com>
Reply-To: nenemayo@primposta.com
Date: Tue, 16 Aug 2005 06:23:51 -0700
Subject: Pls. Respond ASAP


From: Mrs. Nene Mayo.
7130, Somerset West,
Western Cape.
South Africa.

Dear Sir,

With warm heart I offer my friendship, and greetings, and I hope this
mail meets you in good health.

However strange or surprising this contact might seem to you as we have
not met personally or had any dealings in the past, I humbly ask that you
take due consideration of its importance and the immense
benefit it will be to you and I.

After careful consideration with my children, we resolved to contact you
for your most needed assistance in this manner. I duly apologize for
infringing on your privacy if this contact is not acceptable to you, as I
make this proposal to you as a person of integrity. I got your contacts
through my personal research and out of desperation decided to
reach you through this medium.

First and foremost I wish to introduce myself properly to you. My name is
Mrs. Nene Mayo, mother of three. My husband, Mr. Jeff Mayo,died whilst on
an official trip to Europe last year.

After his death, I was contacted as next of kin by a private security
firm in Europe to come forth with the Certificate of Deposit and claim a
safety deposit my husband has in their Vault in his name.

I went through his library collection and to my astonishment I discovered
a Certificate of Deposit for the safety deposit with this private
security firm, and other documents relating to the safety deposit.

The safety deposit which is in a trunk contains the sum of $18,000,000
which was generated from cash payments from his business associates in
the diamond trade from Antwerp, Belgium. Though I knew my late husband
was in the diamond business, I did not have the knowledge that he moved
funds in cash.

This has came as a shock to me and my children, and we have decided to
have this fund invested immediately in commercial and residential
properties abroad as well as profitable ventures, as no member of my
family can hold such a huge amount in our name, hence we sincerely
propose to you to render us your most needed assistance in this regard.

If you agree to render us your assistance, your role in this project will
be to act on my behalf as a trustee to receive the safety deposit
containing the funds from the Security firm. Though I believe this
transaction should be based on mutual benefit and interest.

For your reliable assistance, we are offering you 20% of the funds. I
thank you in advance as we anticipate your assistance in enabling us
achieve this goal.

I will be working with you for a mutual conclusion of the process and I
look forward to a long lasting business relationship with you.

Whether or not you are interested in assisting us please let us know.
This will enable us make alternative plans, in the event of non-interest
on your part.

With warm regards,

Mrs. Nene Mayo.

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