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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.

Click here to report a problem with this page.

 

 

Some comments by the Scam-O-Matic about the following email:

Fraud email example:

From: eric john <ericjohn8899@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, 1 Oct 2005 16:24:59 -0700
Subject: re:funds transfer


*FROM THE DESK OF MR ERIC JOHN
IMB SECURITY BANK PLC.


Dear Sir,

I am an accountant of IMB SECURITY BANK PLC at foreign
remittance department . There is a business I would want you to
champion for me.Your contact was given to me,through your contry chamber of
commerce.

In my department we discovered an abandoned sum of ($15.5, 000,000.00
U.S)Fiften million Five Hundrend Thousand US dollars) . In an account that
belongs to one of our foreign customer who died along with his entire
family in november 2000 in a plane crash.

Since we got information about his death, we have been expecting his
next of kin to come over and claim his money because we cannot release it
unless somebody applies for it as next of kin or relation to the deceased as

indicated in our banking guidelines, but unfortunately we learnt that
all his supposed next of kin's or relation died alongside with him at the
plane crash leaving nobody behind for the claim.
It is therefore upon this discovery that I and other officials in my
department now decided to make this businness 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 we dont

want this money to go into the Bank treasury as unclaimed Bill.
The Banking law and guideline here stipulates that if such money
remained unclamed after five years, the money will be transfered into the
Bank
treasury as unclaimed fund.

The request of foreigner as next of kin in this business is occasioned
by the fact that the customer was a foreigner and a Burkinable cannot
stand as next of kin to a foreigner.
We agree that 35% of this money will be for you as foreign partner, in
respect to the provision of a foreign account, 20% for any charity
organization in your country while 5% will be set aside for expenses
incured during the business and 40 % would be for me.
There after I will visit your country for disbursement according to the
percentages indicated. Therefore to enable the immediate trnansfer of
this fund to you as arranged,you must apply first to the bank as relations
or next of kin of the deceased indicating your bank name, your bank
account number, your private telephone and fax number for easy and effective

communication and location where in the money will be remitted.

All modalities of this transaction have been carefully worked out and
once started will not take more than seven (7) working days, with your full
support. this transaction is 100% risk free.it <http://free.it> involve no
any
inplication and no any precaution there after.
Upon receipt of your reply, I will send to you by fax or email the text
of application which you will fill and send to the bank for immidiate
claim. I will not fail to bring to your notice that this transaction 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.

Trusting to hear from you immediately.

Yours faithfully,

Mr Eric John*

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