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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

• About the 419 (Advance Fee) scam
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• Frequently asked Questions (419 FAQ)
• Phone numbers used by 419 scammers
  (+225 +229 +234 +27 +31 +32 +34 +44 other)
• Company names mentioned in 419 spam:
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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.

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:

• An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "please endeavor to " (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "huge sum of money" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
  • "contact me immediately" (they are rushing you so you don't have time to think properly)
• This email message is a next of kin scam.
• This email lists free webmail addresses. Use of such addresses is typical for scams. Lotteries, banks and any but the smallest of companies do not normally use such addresses. Criminals use them to anonymously send and receive email at Internet cafes.
  • george_vallon@yahoo.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: Mr George Vallon <george_vallon@virgilio.it>
Date: Fri, 28 Jul 2006 12:13:14 +0100
Subject: Information.

Hello Friend,

My name is George Vallon, I am a senior treasury officer in a Finance/Securities Firm in The Netherlands.
I am contacting you for a business transfer of a huge sum of money from a deceased account. Though I
know that a transaction of this magnitude will make any one apprehensive and worried, but I am assuring
you that documents which will bring about the success of this transaction would be provided, and all will
be well at the end of the day. I decided to contact you due to the urgency of this transaction.
The deceased person, Mr Neal Walker died in an air crash along with his wife on the 31st October 1999
in an Egyptian airline 990 with other passengers on board.You can confirm their death from the website
below which was published by BBC WORLD NEWS.
WEBSITE.http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/502503.stm
Since his death, none of his next-of-kin are alive to make claims for this money as his next of kin,
because they all died in the same accident.
We cannot release the fund from his account unless someone applies for claim as the next-of-kin to the
deceased as indicated in our banking guidelines.

Upon this discovery,I now seek your permission to have you stand as a next of kin to the deceased as
next of kin. All documents will be carefully processed to make you the beneficiary as next of kin to the
funds US$8,500,000.00(Eight million, five hundred thousand US.DOLLAR)which will be released in your
favor as the next of kin.
Because after seven years the money (US$8.5M)will be called back to the bank bond treasury as
unclaimed bills and the money shared amongst the Directors of our Finance company.
It may interest you to know that we have secured from the probate an order of mandamus to locate any
of the deceased next of kin.so it is on this note, I decided to seek for whom I will use the name as the
next of kin/beneficiary to these funds rather than allow our Directors to share the money amongst
themselves at the end of the year.

Please acknowledge receipt of this letter and indicate your acceptance and interest by furnishing me
with the following information.
1. Full names and address,
2. Telephone and fax number
For our personal contact and mutual trust in each other. I shall be compensating you with 35% of the
above amount on final conclusion of this project for your assistance, the balance 65% shall be for me.
If this proposal is acceptable by you,please endeavor to contact me immediately with this
email:george_vallon@yahoo.com

Best Regards,

Mr.George Vallon

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam