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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: =?big5?q?Gilly=20Edward?= <gillyedward40@yahoo.com>
Reply-To: edwardgilly26@gmail.com
Date: Fri, 30 Oct 2009 18:19:08 +0800 (HKT)
Subject: URGENT REPLY IS NEEDED


§Ú¦³·sªº¹q¶l¦a§}¡I§A²{¥i¹q¶lµ¹§Ú¡Ggillyedward40@yahoo.com

URGENT REPLY IS NEEDED

- HELLO DEAR, I got your contact during my search for a reliable, honest and a trustworthy person to entrust this huge transfer project with . My name is MR EDWARD GILLY. I am the manager of the Standard Chartered Bank, First Light Branch, Accra Ghana . I am a Ghanaian, married with two kids.I am writing to solicit for your assistance in the transfer of funds valued at $6,620,000.00 (six million six hundred and twenty thousand United States Dollars.) This fund is the excess of what my branch in which I am the Manager made as profit during the last annual audition. I have already submitted an approved end of the year report for the year 2008 to my head office in Accra here and they will never know of this excess.I have since then, placed this amount of value $6,620,000.00 million USD in a suspense escrow account without a beneficiary. I cannot stand to claim it that was why I contacted you to stand as the beneficiary. As an officer of the bank, I cannot directly be connected to this money thus I am impelled to request for your assistance to receive this Money into your bank account. I intend to part 30% of this fund to you as compensation while 70% shall be for me. All I need from you is to stand as the original depositor of the fund. Remember my bank do not know about this money. yours Sincerely, MR EDWARD GILLY.


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