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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: <michael17@indiatimes.com>
Date: Sat, 5 Nov 2005 14:54:34 -0000
Subject: confidential mail

Dear Friend,

Let me start by introducing myself properly to you. I am Mr. Michael
Smith, I work with the First National Bank, London-U.K. as an account
officer in the Treasury/Credit Control Unit. I came to know you in private
search for a reliable and reputable person to handle this confidential
transaction, which involves the transfer of a huge sum of money into a
foreign account requiring maximum confidence.

First, I must solicit your confidence in this transaction, this by virtue
of its nature that is utterly confidential and secret. Though I know that
a transaction of this magnitude will make any one apprehensive and
worried, but I am assuring you that all will be well at the end of the
day. I decided to contact you due to the fact that this transaction is
urgent, as I will rely on your ability in handling a transaction of this
nature.
THE NATURE OF THE PROPOSITION: A foreigner by name Andreas Schranner, who
is a real estate and property developer by profession does some his
banking transaction with us at First National Bank, London-U.K. and had a
closing balance as at the end of January 2002, which is worth Fifteen
Million British Pounds (GB15,000,000.00).

I was his personal account officer and since he deposited this money with
us in the year 1999, We were instructed by my late client that the money
be kept and secured in a security and finance firm because it was less
expensive to keep and secure the funds in the security firm devoid of tax
payments.
I am sad to inform you that Mr. Andreas Schranner and his wife died in the
ill fated concorde flight AF4590 that crashed into Hotelisimmo on the
31st of July 2000 in Paris-France . check this website below:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/859479.stm

Our bank expects his Next of Kin to come forward as a sole beneficiary to
his assets with the bank, as is personal account officer fruitless efforts
has being made by me for more than one year to get in touch with any of my
late client family or relatives without any success. The impossibility of
being able to locate any of my late client Next of Kin up to this day is
because his wife Maria Schranner and his daughter Eich Andreas also
perished in the flight.

It may interest you to know that I have secured from the probate an order
of mandamus to locate any of deceased beneficiaries. I now seek your
permission to have you stand as the Next of Kin to my late client, so that
the funds will be released and paid into any account to be provided by you
as the beneficiary Next of Kin.
I will furnish you with the necessary modalities of the transaction as
soon as I receive an acknowledgement of your acceptance. I assure you that
this transaction is 100% risk and failure free the money will be shared on
a 50-50 basis.
Please forward to me on acceptance of this proposal by email, Your private
telephone and fax number including the Country code and area codes, your
complete names, and Private email address for effective communication as
the project will be completed within the next 14 working days.
Thanks.
Best Regards.
Michael Smith.




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