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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

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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:

• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "is 100% risk free" (almost true for the criminal - arrests of online criminals are rare)
• This email message is a next of kin scam.

Fraud email example:

From: koffi frank <koffifrank20@hotmail.com>
Date: Wed, 3 Oct 2007 22:37:35 +0000
Subject: Urgent Assistance.




FROM:MR,KOFFIFRANK.
MANAGER TREASURY DEPARTMENT,
AFRICA DEVELOPMENT BANK LTD.
ACCRA-GHANA.

Greetings,

I am the manager treasury department of Africa Development Bank Limited. In my department I discovered an abandoned 450KG of GOLD and the sum of US$10.3 (Ten Million Three Hundred Thousand Dollars) in an account that belongs to one of our foreign customer who died along with his entire family in a plane crash that happened in Kenya, East Africa.

Since we got information about his death, our bank have been expecting his next of kin to come over and claim his money because we cannot release it unless somebody applies for it as next of kin or relation to the deceased as indicated in our banking guidelines and laws but unfortunately we learnt that all his supposed next of kin or relation died alongside with him at the plane crash leaving nobody behind for the claim. You can read more about the death of Dr. George W. Brumley:
http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/africa/07/20/kenya.crash/index.html

It is therefore upon this discovery that I now decided to make this business proposal to you and release the money as the next of kin or relation to the deceased for safety and subsequent disbursement since nobody is coming for it and I don't want this money to go into the bank treasury as unclaimed bill.

I agree that 40% of this money will be for you as a foreign partner, in respect to the provision of foreign account, and 60% for me; there after I will visit your country for disbursement according to the percentage indicated after the transfer is done.

Upon the receipt of your reply, I will send to you the text of transfer application to fill and send to our head office. I will not fail to bring to your notice that this transaction is 100% Risk free as it will only take us three banking working days and you should not entertain any atom of fear.

You should contact me as soon as you receive this letter as I wait your urgent response.
Regards,
MR ,KOFFIFRANK.
_________________________________________________________________
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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam