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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: "Rowland" <rowl@mail.az> (may be fake)
Reply-To: rowland@mail.az
Date: Tue, 16 Oct 2007 20:06:32 -0700
Subject: Hello

Greetings,
I am Barrister Rowland Franklyn, a South African attorney based in Dakar Senegal,
and the personal attorney to Late Mr. Mark Michelle, a French Nationality. Late Mr.
Mark Michelle until his untimely death was a private oil consultant/contractor with
the Senegaliase Petroleum Company, hereinafter shall be referred to as my client.
On the 3rd day of January 2004, my client and his wife along with their two
children were among the victims of Boeing 737 Egyptian Airliner that crashed into
the Red Sea.

You can read more about the crash by visiting this
website:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/3365769.stm

Presently, the deceased had a deposit valued at US$18,000,000.00(Eighteen Million
United States Dollars) and the bank has issued me a notice to provide his next of
kin or beneficiary. Since I could not locate any of my late client’s relatives for
over three (3) years now, I am seeking your consent to present you as the next of
kin/beneficiary to the deceased so that the proceeds of this account can be
released to you.

I have worked out plan for achieving my aim of appointing a next of kin as well as
transferring the money abroad for us to share in the ratio of 50% for me, 35% for
you, and we shall collectively donate 10% to any Charity organization, while 5%
will be set aside for any incurable expenses both local and international.
The transaction is guaranteed to succeed without any problem. All I need is your
trust and confidence.
Provide me with these information:
(1) Your phone and fax numbers.
(2) Your complete location address/full names
(3)Your full names.
I look forward to your response.
Thanks and best regards,
Rowland Franklyn.



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