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

Fraud email example:

From: "harry" <harry22smith@myway.com>
Date: Thu, 16 Mar 2006 13:19:12 -0500 (EST)
Subject: RE: MATURED INVESTMENT


DIRECT PHONE: 00874762918970 DIRECT FAX: 00874762918971 MOBILE: 008821646685796 EMAIL: harry22smith@yahoo.com DEAR SIR, RE: MATURED INVESTMENT.HOW ARE YOU AND YOUR FAMILY? I HOPE YOU ARE ALL OKAY. YOU WILL BE SURPRISE TO RECEIVE THIS LETTER BUT WHEN YOU GO THROUGH IT YOU WILL BE GLAD THAT I SENT YOU THE LETTER.I AM THE NEWLY APPOINTED MANAGING DIRECTOR OF A SOUTH AFRICAN BASED INVESTMENT CORPORATION. I AM PRIVILEGED TO CONTACT YOU IN RESPECT OF A CLAIM/DIVIDEND, WHICH MATURED SINCE 2004. THE INVESTOR AFTER COLLECTING THE SAID RETURN OF INVESTMENT FROM OUR FIRM AND DEPOSITED THE CASH WITH A SECURITY COMPANY DIED AFTER ONE WEEK ON A MOTOR ACCIDENT IN NOVEMBER 1998 AND FROM THE CONTENT OF HIS FILE WITH US, WE NOTICED THAT THERE WAS NO NEXT- OF-KIN IN HIS DETAILS AS HE PROMISED TO FORWARD THE INFORMATION LATTER TO US. BUT THIS HE DID NOT PROVIDE UNTIL HE DIED. FURTHER INVESTIGATION TO TRACE THE ROOT OF THE INVESTOR WAS MADE VERY COMPLEX
AS THE INFORMATION AND DETAILS HE PROVIDED CONFIRMED THAT HIS WIFE AND ONLY SON DIED IN RUSSIA IN A AIRCRASH IN THE YEAR 1998 AND ALSO HIS NAME INITIALS WITH HIS FIRST NAME IS THE SAME WITH YOURS. HOWEVER, I HAVE TAKEN IT UPON MYSELF TO TRACE THE NEXT OF KIN IF POSSIBLE CLAIM THE US$48,000,000.00 (FORTY EIGHT MILLION UNITED STATES DOLLARS ONLY), WHICH IS THE TOTAL PAYABLE TO THE NEXT OF KIN. THE FUNDS HAVE ALREADY BEEN WITHDRAWN FROM THE FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF SOUTH AFRICA AND BOXED.THE INVESTOR DEPOSITED THIS CASH WITH A SECURITY COMPANY WITHOUT THEM KNOWING THE CONTENT OF THE BOX FOR SECURITY REASONS BEFORE HE DIED UNEXPECTEDLY.THEY WERE TOLD THAT IT CONTAINED COMPANY TREASURES AND DOCUMENTS AND THE CORPORATION PAID THEM US$20,000.00 ON BEHALF OF THE BENEFICIARY AS THE INITIAL DEPOSIT FOR THE SAFE KEEPING OF THE BOX AS THEY HAVE CHARGED US$100.00 PER DAY FOR THE SAFE KEEPING. IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN THE BUSINESS, A QUICK ARRANGEMENT FOR YOU TO CLAIM THE FUNDS WILL BE MADE
TO AVOID THE CASH BEING RETURNED TO SOUTH AFRICAN GOVERNMENT AS UNTRACABLE/UNCLAIMED DIVIDEND. WE CANNOT WAIT AND SEE SUCH AMOUNT OF MONEY BEING WASTED IN THE GOVERNMENT COFFER. THIS CLAIM MUST BE MADE NOT LATTER THAN THREE WEEKS TIME. AFTER THE BUSINESS, EACH PARTNER WILL BE ENTITLED TO RECEVING HALF OF THE MONEY AND I WILL THEN LET YOU KNOW HOW I AM GOING TO MEET YOU IN YOUR COUNTRY FOR INVESTMENT DISCCUSION. NOTE THAT THIS BUSINESS IS 100% LEGAL, RISK FREE AND SHOULD BE HANDLED WITH UTMOST URGENCY AND CONFIDENTIALITY. YOU CAN REACH ME ON MY DIRECT TELEPHONE, FAX, AND MOBILE AS INDICATED ABOVE WITHOUT ADDING MY COUNTRY CODE. ALL REPLIES SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THIS CONFIDENTIAL EMAIL ADDRESS: harry22smith@yahoo.com BEST REGARDS, HARRY SMITH

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