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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: mrnewman@4phil.com
Date: Wed, 09 Aug 2006 06:27:05 -0400
Subject: Trust & Urgent


Dear Friend,
I am Mr Newman Edmond Accounts supervisor with standard Bank plc London. I have urgent and very confidential business proposition for you. On June 6, 1999, a Foreign Diamond consultant/contractor with the London Diamond Corporation, Mr.Jimmy Brown made a numbered time (Fixed) Deposit for twelve calendar months, valued at SD$22,000,000.00, (Twenty-two Million Dollars) in my branch. Upon maturity, I sent a routine notification to his forwarding address but got no reply. After a month, I sent a reminder and finally I discovered from his contract employers, the London Diamond Corporation that Mr.Jimmy Brown died from a rebel attack. On further investigation, I found out that he died without making a WILL, and all attempts to trace his next of kin was fruitless.

I therefore made further investigation and discovered that Mr.Jimmy Brown did not declare any kin or relations in all his official documents, including his Bank Deposit paperwork in my Bank. This sum of USD$22,000,000.00 has carefully/confidentially been moved out of my bank to a private organization in Europe for safekeeping. No one can ever come forward to claim it. According to London Law, at the expiration of 8 (eight) years,the money will revert to the ownership of the London Government if nobody applies to claim the fund. Consequently, my proposal is that I want you as a Foreigner to stand in as the rightful owner of the money. I deposited it in a private organization in trunk box though the private organization does not know the contents of the box as I tagged them to be photographic materials for export. In the circumstance, I want to present you as the rightful owner of the boxes in the private organization so that you can be able to claim them with the help of my a!
ttorney. This is simple.

I would like you to provide immediately your full names and address as well as your direct telephone and fax number so that the Attorney will prepare the necessary documents which will put you in the right place as the owner of the box. The money will be moved out for us to your country and share in the ratio of 80% for me and 20% for you. There is no risk at all as all the paperwork for this transaction will be done by the Attorney and this will guarantees the successful execution of this transaction on your behalf, please reply immediately via my email address. Upon your response, I shall then provide you with more details and relevant documents that will help you understand the transaction and swing into the necessary action while I confide in you hoping you will not betray me at last. Please when replying me do not click the reply botten because your reply will not get to me directly but will go to my company\'s email above. So i will like you to reply me through my priv!
ate email address as follow: (mr.edmond1@yahoo.co.uk ) Please copy my private email address and past on your reply so that i can receive it directly in my private email address. My private email addres once again is ( mr.edmond1@yahoo.co.uk ) This is for security reason.
Thanks and God bless
Mr.Newman Edmond

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