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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: "MR. AHMET MAYO" <ahmet00221@yahoo.fr> (may be fake)
Reply-To: ahmet_mayo@yahoo.fr
Date: Sat, 31 Aug 2002 13:30:11 +0000
Subject: I And My Family Need Your Help











Dear Sir/Madam,

I know you will be surprise to receive this letter from me since you don't know me personally.
I am Mr. Ahmet Mayo, the son of Mr. MORGAN MAYO who was recently murdered in the land dispute
in Zimbabwe. I got your contact through your country's information exchange in my search for a
reliable and reputable person to handle a very confidential transaction, which involves a
transfer of fund to a foreign account, and I decided to write to you.

The war veterans of the ruling government of President Robert Mugabe for their alleged support
murdered my father who was among the few black Zimbabwean rich farmers in cold blood for the
Movement of Democratic Change (MDC), which is against Mugabe's rule.

The land problem arose when Mugabe introduced a New Land Act that wholly affected the rich white
farmers and some blacks vehemently condemned the "Modus Operandi" adopted by the government. This
resulted to rampant killing and mob action by the war veterans and thugs. Hundreds of people have
so far been killed. Heads of government from the West, especially Britain and the United States of
America have voiced their condemnation of Mugabe's Land Act. Subsequently, South African Development
Community (SADC) has continuously supported Mugabe.

It is against this background that my family and I who are currently in South Africa have decided
to transfer my money out of Africa as we no longer feel safe anymore and want to transfer this money
to a foreign country where we can establish ourselves.

Just before my father's death, he took me to Dakar Senegal to deposit the sum of US$29.2M (Twenty
Nine Million Two Hundred Thousand United States Dollars) with a security and finance company, as he
foresaw the looming danger in Zimbabwe. This money was deposited in a company as valuables to avoid
much demurrage from the finance company. This amount was earmarked for the purchase of new farm
machinery and chemicals, as well as the establishment of some new farms in Lesotho and Swaziland.
As the eldest son of my father, I am saddled with the responsibility of seeking a genuine foreign
account where this money could be transferred into without the knowledge of my government who are
tactically freezing our family's wealth and the Senegal government seems to playing along. I am
faced with the dilemma of investing the money here, since both countries have almost the same
history. More so, the Senegal Foreign Exchange does not allow such investment as I am seeking for
political asylum.

As a businessperson whom I must entrust my future and that of my family, I must let you know that
there is no risk and the nature of your business does not necessarily matter. Therefore, should you
be able and willing to help me and my family, we are willing to offer you 25% of the total sum for
you assistance.

It is our wish to invest our money on commercial property based on your advice and I will also
receive assurance that you would not sit on this money when transferred into your account.
If this proposal is acceptable to you, please confirm your interest via my contact my e-mail:
familybox1@myway.com

Best regards
MR. AHMET MAYO
(For the Family)




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