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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: nelsonsmith2000@terra.es
Date: Tue, 26 Jun 2007 05:26:57 +0200
Subject: CONFIDENTIAL


From office of the Director,
Project Implementation Unit
Eskom,Republic of South Africa
Direct-tel-line+27 78-291-9451

DEAR SIR/MADAM,

I KNOW THAT THIS PROPOSAL MAY COME TO YOU AS A SURPRISE, ESPECIALY HAVING TO
COME FROM SOMEONE YOU HAVE NOT MET BEFORE, BUT I WOULD LIKE YOU TO CO-OPERATE
WITH ME SO THAT THIS US$35M USD WILL BE RELEASED AND TRANSFERRED INTO YOUR
ACCOUNT.

MY NAME IS MR NELSON SMITH, THE CHAIRMAN OF CONTRACT AWARD COMMITTEE OF ESKOM
PTY LTD SOUTH AFRICA. IT IS MY PROFOUND INTENTION TO CONTACT YOU FOR THIS
VERY IMPORTANT AND HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL TRANSACTION FOR THE TRANSFER OF
US$35,000,000,00 INTO YOUR ACCOUNT .

THE US$35,000,000,00 WAS THE OVER ESTIMATED BALANCE FROM THE CONTRACTS
AWARDED TO BOTH FOREIGN AND LOCAL CONTRACTORS THE REAL CONTRACT VALUE WAS
$120 MILLION DOLLARS BUT IT WAS OVER ESTIMATED TO US$155,000,000,00(ONE
HUNDRED AND FIFTY FIVE MILLION UNITED STATES DOLLARS ONLY).

THE CONTRACT HAS BEEN SUCCESSFULY EXECUTED BY THE CONTRACTORS AND THEIR
CONTRACT SUM OF (US$120M) HAS BEEN PAID TO THEM,LEAVING OUR OVER ESTIMATED
BALANCE OF (US$35,000,000,00) THIRTY FIVE MILLION UNITED STATES DOLLARS STILL
PENDING AT THE BANK.

RIGHT NOW, WE ARE LEFT WITH THIS OVER ESTIMATED BALANCE OF(US$35M) WHICH IS
STILL FLOATING AT THE ESCROW ACCOUNT IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN RESERVE
BANK,AWAITING FINAL PAYMENT TO ANY RELIABLE FOREIGN BANK ACCOUNT YOU MAY
PROVIDE.I AM THEREFORE ASKING YOU TO CO-OPERATE WITH ME SO THAT THE FUND WILL
BE RELEASED AND TRANSFERRED INTO YOUR ACCOUNT. IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN THIS MY PROPOSAL,
REPLY ME SO THAT WE CAN NEGOTIATE YOUR PERCENTAGE BEFORE WE PROCEED.

HOWEVER, WHEN THE FUND IS TRANSFERRED INTO YOUR ACCOUNT OVER THERE, I SHALL
OBTAIN VISA AND TRAVEL WITH MY FAMILY OVER THERE FOR MY OWN SHARE OF THIS
MONEY IN THIS REGARD,I WOULD LIKE YOU TO SEND ME THE FOLLOWING INFORMATIONS
THROUGH THE EMAIL ADDRESS BELOW FOR SECURITY REASONS

YOUR NAME:
-----------------------------
YOUR OCCUPATION:
-----------------------------
YOUR ADDRESS:
-----------------------------
YOUR PRIVATE PHONE / FAX NUMBERS:
-----------

REGARDS,

MR NELSON SMITH.

KINDLY REPLY ME ON MY PRIVATE EMAIL ADDRESS;nelsonsmith2000@yahoo.com

Anti-fraud resources: