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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: Martins Greg <martins_4_greg@hotmail.com>
Reply-To: <martins_42_greg@hotmail.com>
Date: Mon, 4 Jun 2007 20:34:50 +0200
Subject: Message From Martins Greg




Note: Your reply should be on this email address : martins_42_greg@hotmail.com



GreetingsBest compliments of the season. I am Martins Greg Esq., a notary public and the personal attorney to late Mr. Mark, a citizen of your country and the President/CEO of Diamond Safari Company Ltd, Accra Ghana. On the 6th of January 2006, my client, his wife and their only child were involved in a motor accident, which claimed their lives. The accident occurred along Accra-Kumasi major highway road. Being a successful Diamond dealer in my country and the whole of the West African sub-region, he left behind a huge estate and assets. Sequel to his death, I have made several different efforts in search of the immediate relatives in order to transfer the legacies he left in my custody but my efforts have been fruitless.
Eventually, I tried the Internet, Elementary Family Search and fortunately your name displayed as the closest relative (by surname) of the deceased. Currently, one of the banks in custody of my late client’s legacy has requested me to bring forward the next of kin to inherit the legacy. The value of the legacy is six million five hundred thousand dollars deposited with a finance company in Accra-Ghana. In line with the result of my search, I humbly seek your consent to be presented as the bona fide next of kin to the deceased so that this legacy will be transferred to your ownership.

This entails repatriating the fund to your nominated receiving bank account As a matter of fact. I have the legal requirements needed to back you up in the claims. Moreover, the bank in custody of this legacy mandated me to bring forward the next of kin to inherit the fund or forfeit it to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as an unclaimed dividend. I will like you to enclose your cell phone number and your contact address for easy communication. However, this transaction must be treated with absolute confidentiality and we must work hand in hand physically and financially to conclude perfectly.
Therefore, your co-operation is required earnestly to claim this legacy from the bank for final disbursement between us. If you are ready to receive this legacy as the next of kin to the deceased, you can contact me directly on this email address:anthony_b2jjj@hotmail.com, I am working on a project in one of the African countries and you can reach me there directly awaiting your urgent response.Yours truly,Marins Greg Esq.
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