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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: "Mike Peterson" <mpeterson41@mailbox.hu>
Reply-To: a7m7png@live.com
Date: Mon, 26 May 2008 07:29:53 -0700
Subject: Transfer of Inheritance Funds.


*Attorney Mike Peterson Esq.
London-England Uk.*

*Good day!!!*

*I am Attorney Mike Peterson the personal attorney to late (Mr. John A.
Michael) a nationality of your country who unfortunately died on the
Terrorist attack in Liverpool London on the dated 7th July 2005. Since the
death of (Mr. John A. Michael) I as his personal attorney have made several
enquiries to locate his relations to come up for the inheritance claim,
without any success. I came across your name and contact on the course of my
personal searching for my late client relations/next of kin so I decided to
contact you for this project.*

*I am contacting you to assist in securing the wealth left behind in a fixed
deposit account by my late client before they get confiscated or declared
unserviceable by the bank where my late client operates an account The board
of Directors of the bank has issued and spread a notice that after 2 months
from now and no relation shown up for the claiming of the said funds, the
funds will be confiscated and declared unserviceable. Since The board of
Directors of the bank have been unsuccessful in locating my client
relatives for sometime now, it's on this note that I seek your consent to
present you as the relation/next of kin to my late client that the proceed
of this deposit can be released into your account. The amount deposited $5.8
Million Dollars also I believed with interest ($5.080.000.00USD) I will
agree with you on 60% for you while 40% for me. I guarantee that this
transaction will be executed under a legitimate arrangement which will
protect you from any breach of the law.*

*Upon your response, furnish me with:
Your full name and address
Your telephone and fax numbers
Your occupation and age*

*As soon as I receive all these information from you I will present it to
the bank Directors that I have locate the relation to my late client since
they asked that I should provide the next of kin for them to release the
inheritance fund. Let me hear from you once you acknowledge my email. My
alternative email address is:
**attorneymike_peterson@yahoo.co.uk*<attorneymike_peterson@yahoo.co.uk>
* or: **attorneymikepeterson@yahoo.com* <attorneymikepeterson@yahoo.com>

*Yours faithfully,
Attorney Mike Peterson.*

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