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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: "joss martinez" <jmartinez@clubcharityhome.org>
Reply-To: jmartinezcharityhome@walla.com
Date: Mon, 29 Aug 2005 14:25:49 +0000
Subject: A CRY FOR HELP!!

Dear friend,

Greetings to you and your family! This mail might come to you as a surprise
and the temptation to ignore it as unserious could come into your mind; but
please consider it a divine wish and accept it with a deep sense of
humility. My name is Jose A. Martinez. I am a 64 years old man, I am Cuban
currently residing in Dubai (United Arab Emirate). I was formerly living in
Cuba and served under Castro`s government but had to run into self exile
after the ruling Government of Fidel Castro closed in on my family on
accusations of anti-government statements, I was once married with two
children but my family could not escape before the deadly hands of Castro`s
goons fell on them. l did made a lot of money serving Castro and on getting
to UAE, I have been a merchant here in Dubai dealing in Ornamentals,
Oriental Carpets and Artifacts and life was very smooth for me until about
three(3) years ago when I was first diagnosed of Cancer of the Larynx.

Before this happened my business and concern for making money was all I
lived for, I never really cared about other values in life. But since the
loss of my family and hometown, I have found a new desire to assist helpless
families. I have been helping orphans in orphanage/motherless homes. I have
once donated some money to orphans in war ravaged Eritrea, Somalia, Sudan
and some East European Countries. Before I became ill, I kept $ 4.5 Million
in a long-term deposit vault of a security/finance company and I didn`t
state any next of kin when the money was deposited and if I died without
stating any the money will automatically go into the coffers of the security
company and I don`t want this to happen. I have left the hospital and
presently receiving treatment in an acupuncture clinic, I have been
undergoing treatment for Oesophageal Cancer at the hospital. I have since
lost my ability to talk and my doctors have told me that I have only a few
months to live. It is my last wish to see this money distributed to charity
organizations.

Because relatives and friends have plundered so much of my wealth since my
illness, I cannot live with the agony of entrusting this huge responsibility
to any of them. Please, I beg you in the name of God to help me collect the
deposit and distribute it amongst charity organizations. Use your judgement
to distribute the money and feel free to reimburse yourself when you have
the money for any cost you incur during the process of collecting and
distributing the money to charity organizations. I am going to send you
vital documents to back my claims and I am willing to offer you a reward If
you are willing to help, please reply as soon as you can. Looking forward to
hearing from you soonest.

Regards,

J. A Martinez


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