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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

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• Phone numbers used by 419 scammers
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• Company names mentioned in 419 spam:
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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.

Read more about such scams here or in our 419 FAQ. Use the Scam-O-Matic to verify suspect emails.

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

• An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "dear sir/madam" (a standard Nigerian greeting phrase)
  • "i will like you to " (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "million us dollars" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
  • "lagos" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
• This email message is a next of kin scam.
• This email lists free webmail addresses. Use of such addresses is typical for scams. Lotteries, banks and any but the smallest of companies do not normally use such addresses. Criminals use them to anonymously send and receive email at Internet cafes.
  • anthonyamina@myway.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "Anthony Smith." <mminaanthony@hotmail.com>
Reply-To: anthonyamina_011@yahoo.com.hk
Date: Tue, 17 Jan 2006 01:50:20 +0000
Subject: Urgent matters"

UNION BANK OF NIGERIA PLC
124 Marina Street
Victoria Island.
Lagos. NIGERIA.
RC.27199.
TEL/234-1-7763612.
private email:anthonyamina@myway.com

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am Mr. Anthony Amina, branch Manager of Union Bank of Nigeria Plc in
Shomolu, Lagos State. I have urgent and very confidential business proposal
for you.

On December 8, 1999, a Foreign Oil consultant/contractor with the Nigerian
National Petroleum Corporation, Mrs. Ann Barbara Myers made a numbered time
(fixed) deposit for twelve calendar months, valued at US$25,000,000.00
(Twenty-five Million US Dollars) in my branch. Upon maturity, I sent a
routine notification to her forwarding address but got no response. After a
month, we sent a reminder and finally we discovered from her contract
employers, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, that Mrs. Ann
Barbara Myers died in an automobile accident. On further investigation, I
found out that she died without making a WILL, and all attempts to trace her
next of kin have to date, been fruitless.

I then made further investigation and discovered that Mrs. Ann Barbara Myers
did not declare any next-of-kin or relative in all her official documents,
including her bank deposit paperwork with my Bank. This sum of S$25 million
is still in my Bank and the interest is being rolled over with the principal
sum at the end of every year. No one will ever come forward to claim it and
according to Nigerian Laws, at the expiration of 5 (five) years, the money
will revert to the ownership of the Nigerian government if no one applies to
claim the fund.

Consequently, my proposal is that I will like you to stand in as the next of
kin to Mrs. Ann Barbara Myers so that the fruits of this woman's labor will
not get into the hands of some corrupt government officials here. This is
simple, I will like you to provide immediately your full names and address
so that we can engage a law firm to prepare the necessary documents and
affidavits which will put you in place as the next of kin. This law firm
will process and notarize all the necessary documents including the letter
of probate administration in your favor in order for the transfer to take
place. A bank account in any part of the world which you will provide will
then facilitate the transfer of this money to you as the beneficiary/next of
kin. The money will be paid into your account for us to share in the ratio
of 70% for me and 30% for you.

There will be no risk at all as all the paperwork for this transaction will
be carried out by the Attorneys and my position as the Branch Manager
guarantees the successful execution of this transaction. If you are
interested, please reply immediately via this my private email address. I
shall then provide you with more details and relevant documents that will
help you understand the transaction.

Please observe utmost confidentiality, and rest assured that this
transaction would be most profitable to both of us because I shall require
your assistance to invest my share in your country.

Awaiting your response at your earliest convenience via email or better
still, call me by this number: on 234-1-7763612.

Yours sincerely,

Mr. Anthony Amina
(Union Bank of Nigeria; Plc)

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam