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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: "rabiu atara" <rabiuata4@hotmail.com>
Reply-To: rabiuata02@yahoo.com
Date: Mon, 15 May 2006 18:36:01 +0000
Subject: IMMEDIATE RESPONSE NEEDED.

FROM: MR RABIU ATARA.
AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK (ANNEX)
BILL AND EXCHANGE DEPARTMENT,
OFFSHORE OFFICE,OUAGADOUGOU,BURKINA-FASO.

Dear,

I know that this letter may come to you as a surprise, I got your contact address from the computerized search when I was searching for a business partner.
My name is Mr Rabiu Atara, I am the Bill and Exchange (assistant) Manager of  African Development Bank Ouagadouguo, Burkina Faso.

In my department I discovered an abandoned sum of eighteen million three hundred thousand United State of American dollars ($18.3MILLION U.S.A DOLLARS) in an account that belongs to one of our foreign customer Mr Hazim Ibrahim from Alexandra  Eygpt who died along with his family in Siber airline that crashed into sea at Isreal on 4th October 2001.

Since I got information about his death I have been expecting his next of kin to come over and claim his money because we cannot release it unless somebody applies for it as the next of kin or relation to the deceased as indicated in our banking guidelines, but unfortunately we learnt that all his supposed next of kin or relation died alongside with him in the plane crash leaving nobody behind for the claim.

It is therefore upon this discovery that I decided to make this business proposal to you and release the money to you as next of kin or relation to the deceased for safety and subsequent disbursement since nobody is coming for it because I don't want the money to go into the bank treasury as unclaimed Bill. The banking laws and guidelines here stipulates that if such money remains unclaimed after five years the money will be transfered into the bank treasury as unclaimed fund.

The request of foreigner in this transaction is necessary because our late customer was a foreigner and a Burkinabe cannot stand as next of kin to a foreigner. I have agreed that 33% of this money will be for you as foreigner partner in respect to the provision of a foreign account, 2% will be set aside for expenses that might occurred during the business and 65% would be for me, after which I shall visit your country for disbursement according to the percentages indicated.

Therefore to enable the immediate transfer of this fund to you as we arranged you will furnished me with a good receiving account details where the money will be transfered, your private telephone and fax number for easy communication.
Upon receipt of your reply I will send to you by fax or e-mail a text of the application which you shall retype and fax to our foreign remittance manager for easy execution of the transaction.

I will not fail to bring to your notice that this transaction is 100% hitch-free on both side as all required arrangement has been made for the transfer.

Please I would like you to keep this transaction confidential and as a top secret as you may wish to know that I am a Bank official.

  Trusting to hear from you immediately.

      Yours Sincerely
     Mr Rabiu Atara.



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