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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: (sent from abused email account)
Date: Tue, 11 Nov 2008 22:15:31 +0000
Subject: BUSINESS TRANSACTION!!!

Dear Recipient,
How are you today and business in your country? I am Shing Li, Bank
Manager of bank of Overseas,Taiwan. I would respectfully request
that you keep the contents of this mail confidential and respect
the integrity of the information you come by as a result of this
mail.
I contacted you independently of our investigation and no one is
informed of this communication. A British Oil consultant/contractor
with the Chinese Solid Minerals Corporation, Mr.Courtney Steven
made a numbered time (Fixed) Deposit of $30,000,000.00 for twelve
calendar months and not too long Mr. Courtney Steven died from an
airplane crash. The bank immediately launched an investigation into
possible surviving next of kin to alert about the situation and also
to claim his estate. If you are familiar with private banking affairs,
those who patronize our services usually prefer anonymity, but also
some levels of detachment from conventional processes. In his
bio-data form, he listed no next of kin.

please observe utmost confidentiality, and be rest assured that this
transaction would be most profitable for both of us because I shall
require your assistance to invest my share in your country. Upon
receiving your reply, I will then furnish you with a more comprehensive
detail of this transaction and what is required of you.
Please reply to my private Email: mr_shingli00002@yahoo.com.tw
Awaiting your urgent reply.
Yours Sincerely,
Mr. SHING LI.

Anti-fraud resources: