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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: Michael Peters Esq <michaelpetersesq@petersandpeterslawfirm.net>
Date: Wed, 2 May 2007 23:22:56 +0000
Subject: PAYMENT INSTRUCTION



PETERS AND PETERS LAW FIRM
103 Belle Vale RdLiverpool,MerseysideL25 2PE











Lottery and Gaming Laws Dept.Peters and Peters Law Firm103 Belle Vale RdLiverpoolMerseysideL25 2PE Telephone: +44 703 192 4587 or 00944 703 192 4587 +44 703 192 4587 or 00944 703 192 4587 Email: michaelpetersesq@petersandpeterslawfirm.netALTERNATE Email:michaelpetersesq@gmail.com ATTN:Matthew Ham, Thanks for your email and the confirmation information sent by you. We hereby confirm you as the true beneficiary to UK NATIONAL LOTTERY Winner Re: Prize-Winning Claim of £1,532,720 Our Legal/Professional Charge will be £5,100 for the Legalization and Notarization service to be rendered in regards to you winnings. You are to make payment for £650 of the professional charge up-front to us as Retainership. This is to cover the cost of registering and legalizing your winning claims with the United Kingdom UK NATIONAL LOTTERY Promotion Board and also with the Royal Court of Justice here in United Kingdom. The entire process will take only two days of us receiving payment from you. We will expect to receive the balance of £4,450 from you within 10 days of you receiving your winnings. For speed and convenience sake, do make the payment to us for £650 via western Union Money Transfer to the name of our accounts officer as given below: Name: joseph rhinierAddress: 103 Belle Vale Rd, Liverpool Merseyside L25 2PECountry: The United Kingdom.Amount: £650. After Payments must have been made by you, you should then proceed to send us the information below as regards the very transfer as well as a scanned copy of the transfer slip from Western Union:Senders First Name:Senders Last Name:Sender Address:MTCN (Money Transfer Control Numbers): Ipso facto, we anticipate your full co-operation in this matter to enable us perfect your claims. Your swift performance would be highly appreciated as we are obliged to be of service to you.Congratulations Once again.Yours Sincerely,Michael Peter (Esq.) ForPeters and Peters Law FirmThe information contained in this e-mail may be confidential and/or legally privileged. It is intended only for the stated addressee(s) and access to it by any other person is unauthorized. If you are not an addressee, you must not disclose, copy, circulate or in any other way, use or rely on the information contained in this e-mail. Such unauthorized use may be unlawful. If you have received this e-mail in error, please inform us immediately and delete it and all copies from your system. peters and peters Law Firm cannot accept liability for any breaches of confidence arising through use of email. Any opinions expressed in this email are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect our opinions and we will not accept responsibility for any commitments made by our employees outside the scope of our business. PETERS AND PETERS LAW FIRM do not warrant the accuracy or completeness of such information.

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