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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: "JOHN BAKA" <johnbaka@msn.com>
Reply-To: goodwillthomas@yahoo.co.uk
Date: Mon, 20 Feb 2006 10:25:16 +0000
Subject: URGENT MESSAGE ?

Thomas Goodwill
Account Manager
Royal Trust Bank Plc
Lagos - Nigeria
Tel: 2348037615123

EMAIL . goodwillthomas@yahoo.co.uk
Hello,
I am an Account Officer with ROYAL TRUST BANK PIC, My name is Thomas
Goodwill,a Banker. I am the personal Account Manager Of my Late client
John
a National of your country, who used to work with an Oil servicing
Firm
in Nigeria. Here in after shall be referred to as my client, On April
21,
2000 my client, was involved in a car accident along Sagamu express
way. All
occupants of the vehicle unfortunately lost their lives. Since then
I have made several inquiries to your embassy to locate any of my
client's
extended Relatives, this has also proved unsuccessful.

After these several unsuccessful attempts, I decided to trace his last
name
over to locate any member of his family hence I contacted you.I have
contacted
you to assist in repatriating the money and property left behind by my
client
before they Get confiscated or declared unserviceable by the bank where
this huge deposits were lodged, particularly the (ROYAL TRUST BANK PIC)
Where the deceased had an account Valued at about ($15million u s
dollars)
has Issued me a notice to provide the next of kin. Or have the account
confiscated
within the next ten official working day, The Nigeria Banking Law on
unclaimed
benefits stipulates under section 7 subsections 10 cap.15 that once
such
unclaimed benefits have over- stayed a maximum period of three (3)
years,
the account will become dormant and the money will be confisicated.

And uptill now no body has come to claim the money for the last two
years
and our bank has been notifying the Rotary club for the past one
year.In
order to avert this negative development, I now seek your permission to
have you stand as a "NEXT-OF-KIN" to the Late Beneficiary so that the
funds
US$15M will be released and paid into your bank account as the
beneficiary
"NEXT- OF-KIN" for our mutual benefits. I am assuring you that this
transaction
will be executed under legitimate arrangement that will protect you
from
any breach of the law. Dear friend, because of my position as indigene
its impossible for me to claim directly,which is why your involvement
was
solicited. This transaction is alifetime opportunity,which we cannot
afford
to lose. However, it wasn deliberately designed to benefit me and you.

Since I have been unsuccessful in locating the relatives for over 2
years
now, I seek your consent to present you as the next of kin of the
deceased
so that this account valued at ($ 15 million u s dollars) can be paid
to
you .The sharing modality is still open and negociatable.All I require
is
your honest cooperation to enable us see this deal through.I guarantee
that
this will be executed under a legitimate arrangement that will protect
you.
from any breach of the law. Please get in touch with me by my email
goodwillthomas@yahoo.co.uk you are adviced to send me your full
name,telephone/fax number,mailing address,age and occupation based on
trust
and honesty and as soon as i get that i shall send to you a TEXT OF
APPLICATION which you will send to the bank
proposing for claims and release of this fund.
Best Regards,
Mr Thomas Goodwill.
email:goodwillthomas@yahoo.co.uk
Mr thomas


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