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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.

Click here to report a problem with this page.

 

 

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

Fraud email example:

From: Fan Biodu <mrfanbiodun03@yahoo.com.mx>
Date: Sat, 18 Mar 2006 23:27:34 +0100
Subject: fan biodun


Federal Ministry of Works & Housing
Radio House, Herbert Macaulay Way (south)
P.M.B 111, Garki, Abuja

Business Partnership

Dear Friend,

This is to invite you to freely participate in a business venture on
behalf of my partners and I. We especially need you to act as the chief
beneficiary of a contract sum worth $45 Million United States Dollars
inthe Ministry of Works & Housing, Nigeria.

For your benefit of doubt, we [ my partners & I] are management
officials in the board team of the above named government parastatal.
Inaddition, we are members of the internal audit reveiw panel set up to
reconcile all bonifide contract debts being owed to foreigners by the
government of Nigeria.

In the course of our auditing, we came across the siad sum of $45m
floating in the ministry escrow account as an accrued debt payable to a
yet un-identified contractor since 2001. On thorough examination,it was
discovered that the $45M was a debt brilliantly created by the former
Director General in favour of a company that she was about to
incorporate locally here with the help of a foreign partner.

We made consultations with the former DG and eventually struck an
agreement with her.The masterplan she created remains the same.The plan
is to make you the chief beneficiary to the $45M by way of advancing
you/your company as the real contractor to whom the sum is owed by the
Ministry for a project executed between 2000/2001.As a matter of
fact,all the modalities needed to acheive this has already been perfected. The
overall plan is 100% foolproof and will be carried out legally in every
aspect of the transaction.

Specifically,your duty will be to act in correspondence(via
E-mails,Faxes & Telephone)- with the local Ministry of Finance as well
as the Apex Bank authorities; until your total claims are verified,approved and the
money paid into your advised bank account.

Whereas we would like to maintain our full confidentiality for now, we
shall however provide you with more details as to the masterplan and
the entire time frames involved. We will do so when you indicate your
interest tobecome a partner with us.

Looking forward to a cordial business partnership with you.
Sincerely,
Engr.Fans Biodun
_____________________________________________________________
Engr.Fans Biodun
Federal Ministry of Works & Housing
Radio House, Herbert Macaulay Way (south)
P.M.B 111, Garki, Abuja
(Opposite the International Conference Centre)
www.nopa.net/Press_Release/messages/24.shtml

 

 

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