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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: "hudson john" <hudsonjohn1254@mobimail.mn>
Reply-To: mrjohn.hudson@yahoo.co.uk
Date: Thu, 17 Jul 2008 14:44:07 +0200
Subject: PLEASE READ AND REPLY VERY URGENTLY.


*PLEASE READ AND REPLY VERY URGENTLY.
From: Mr. John Hudson,*
*Operations Manager*
*Continental Bank Benin.*
*Tel: 00229 93 111 784*
*
Dear Friend,
*
* Please in the name of God i ask for your little time to read this message
carefully to the excellency of our mutual benefit. This is not one of those
letters or stories out there that everybody know as joke. I am very serious
and this money is my only hope of survival now and it is the future of my
family. So please read this email very gently and quietly tell me what you
think,if we can transact it together or not. And please after reading if it
does not interest you please kindly delete the mail and keep the secret of
what you red within you.

My name is JOHN HUDSON, i am the operations manager of Continental
Bank Benin Cotonou headquaters Republic of Benin. I got your information
when i was searching for an oversea partner among other names. I write you
this proposal in good faith; I am 52 years old an Ethiopian white based in
Benin Republic, married with two lovely kids.
*
*I have a very important business which i would like to execut with you
which involves some reasonable amount of cash, i have packaged a financial
transaction that will benefit you and I, as the OPS manager in this bank it
is my duty to send in a financial report to my headmen office in Potonovo at
the end of each business year. On the course of the last year 2007 business
report, I discovered that we made Three Million Five Hundred Thousand
British Pounds (3.5,000,000.00)GBPS) which my head office and no single
staff are not aware of and will never be aware of since i have wisely
arranged and blinded the files. I have placed this funds on what we call
escrow call account with no beneficiary.*

*As an officer of this bank I cannot be directly connected to this money, so
my aim of contacting you is to assist me receive this money in your bank
account and get 30% of the total funds as commission. **There are
practically no risks involved, it will be a bank-to-bank transfer, and all I
need from you is to stand claim as the original depositor of these funds who
made the deposit with my branch so that my head office can order the
transfer to your designated bank account.*
**
*If you accept to work with me I will appreciate it very much. Email me with
the email address* *so **that we can go over the details and i will give you
my full informations and relay to you more information onthe money and
explain to you how we should start the claim. Remember there is no risk
involved i promise.*
**
*Thank you in advance and May God bless you and your family. *
*Yours truly*

** *John HUDSON*
*Operations Manager*
*Continental Bank Benin**
Tel: 00229 93 111 784
*

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