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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: Awudu Ibrahim <awudu_300@yahoo.com>
Date: Thu, 4 Sep 2008 02:47:21 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: AN URGENT BUSINESS PROPOSAL


I have a new email address!You can now email me at: awudu_300@yahoo.com



- TRUST SECURITY AND FINANCE COMPANY. PLOT 115/120, ACCRA GHANA, ATTN: SIR,I AM PLEASED TO GET ACROSS TO YOU FOR A VERY PROFITABLE BUSINESS PROPOSAL,THOUGH I DON?T KNOW YOU NEITHER HAVE I SEEN YOU BEFORE BUT I GOT YOUR CONTACT THROUGH MY PRIVATE SEARCH. I AM THE MANAGER OF TRUST SECURITY & FINANCE COMPANY.THE INTENDED BUSINESS IS THUS, WE HAD A CUSTOMER, A FOREIGNER FRENCH BUSINESS MAN, RESIDENT IN GHANA. HE WAS A CONTRACTOR WITH ONE OF THE GOVERNMENT PARAS TATERS HE DEPOSITED THE SUM OF US$ 30MILLION (THIRTY MILLION US. DOLLARS)IN OUR SECURITY VOLT FOR SAFE KEEPING. UNFORTUNATELY, THE MAN DIED FIVE YEARS AGO UNTIL TODAY NON OF HIS NEXT OF KINS HAS COME FORWARD TO CLAIM THE MONEY.HAVING NOTICED THIS I, IN COLLABORATION WITH ONE OTHER TOP OFFICIALS OF THE SECURITY VAULT HAVE COVERED HIS FILE ALL THIS WHILE.NOW WE WANT YOU (BEING A FOREIGNER) TO BE FRONTED AS ONE OF HIS NEXT OF KIN AND FORWARD YOUR ACCOUNT AND OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS TO BE ADVISED TO YOU BY US TO ATTEST TO T!
HE CLAIM. WE WILL USE OUR POSITIONS TO GET ALL INTERNAL DOCUMENTS TO BACK UP THE CLAIMS. THE WHOLE PROCEDURES WILL LAST ONLY TEN WORKING DAYS TO GET THE FUND RETRIEVED SUCCESSFULLY WITHOUT TRACE EVEN IN FUTURE.YOUR RESPONSE IS ONLY WHAT WE ARE WAITING FOR AS WE HAVE ARRANGED ALL NECESSARY THINGS. AS SOON AS THIS MESSAGE COMES TO YOU, KINDLY GET BACK TO ME INDICATING YOUR INTEREST. THEN I WILL FURNISH TO YOU WITH THE WHOLE PROCEDURES TO ENSURE THAT THE DEAL IS SUCCESSFULLY CONCLUDED.FOR YOUR ASSISTANCE WE HAVE AGREED TO GIVE YOU 30% OF THE TOTAL SUM AT THE END OF THE TRANSACTION. IT IS RISK FREE AND A BIG FORTUNE FOR BOTH OF US.WITH YOUR MAXIMUM CO-OPERATION, THIS TRANSACTION IS NOT EXPECTED TO LAST FOR MORE THAN 10 WORKING DAYS. ALL CORRESPONDENCE TOWARDS THIS TRANSACTION WILL BE THROUGH TELEPHONE AND FAX AND E-MAIL. PLEASE REPLY THROUGH THIS E-MAIL MR_FATHA@LIVE.COM I AWAIT YOUR EARLIEST RESPONSE.


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