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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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Some comments about the following email:

Fraud email example:

From: "xx xx" <harrison_920@msn.com>
Reply-To: ttbalog@inmail24.com
Date: Mon, 20 Feb 2006 10:23:54 +0000
Subject: DONATION TO CHARITY- YOUR ASSISTANCE NEEDED

DONATION TO CHARITY- YOUR ASSISTANCE NEEDED

FOR YOUR KIND ATTENTION: Mr. VICTIMNAME
Dear Sir,
I respectfully solicit your permission and cooperation in the establishment
and funding of charitable organization in your country.
I am representing a team of two philanthropists including my father, that
are interested in donating some fund to charity organizations in your
country.

I write this mail therefore, to seek your benevolence in receiving some fund
on behalf of my father and his colleague for donation to charitable
organizations around the world. This is a move to restoring my father to
freedom from the political oppression that presently engulf him.

My name is Toma Balogun, son to the erstwhile Inspector General of Police in
Nigeria - Mr. Tafa Balogun who was out of political discords with the head
of state of my country was recently removed from the post of the Inspector
General of Police and was arrested and is presently detained in prison
custody. He has been alleged operating foreign accounts with as much as
1.7Billion Naira (Nigeria money) while still in active government service.

I am writing this mail to you to seek your kindness to help my father regain
his freedom.
How will you help? Now that my father is in prison custody, on acceptance by
you, I am going to present you as one of my father's creditors that loaned
some money to my father to fund the building of one of the Five Star Hotels,
part of which reasons he was being interrogated.

My father has confided in me that he actually has some money, about
US$16million lodged with secret organizations somewhere in the Middle East
and Europe. He wants a trustworthy and God fearing person to go receive the
money from the organization.

The fund would be declared as a repayment for the loan he took from you. On
successful receipt of the fund from the organization, you shall donate 40%
of it to some charity organizations as part of my father's restitution.
You shall invest 55% in some profitable ventures to be managed solely by you
and later when I regain my traveling documents from the government, I will
join you in the management of such venture. 5% will be for you to cover all
your troubles and possible expenses in the course of the exercise. If you
want this 5% adjusted upward, do let me know please.

Can you help? Are you trustworthy for this kind of mission? Please contact
me via email ID: hallmark2005@hotmail.co.uk so we could acquaint with
ourselves, and to enable me brief you on details of the request.
I would be glad to receive your telephone number so I could call to speak
with you directly for familiarization.

Please note, I may have contacted you due to my desperate desire to help my
father. It is however purely at your own volition to offer the needed help
or not. Should you decide to help us, let there be friendly flow of
communication between us. If you cannot help, please let this mail remain
within you. I plead for absolute confidentiality as my father is still being
tortured by
the law enforcement agents to confess to some vital information.

Your return contact to me shall be greatly appreciated. Please write back to
me.
My regards to you and your family.

Toma T. Balogun
hallmark2005@hotmail.co.uk
Tel: 234 803 355 964


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