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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: "Alfonso and Linda" <alfiba@hotmail.fr>
Date: Thu, 3 Dec 2009 18:41:37 +0100 (CET)
Subject: Please permit our introduction I am Alfonso Williams and my
Sister name Linda. We are writing to seek your help and advice. We
want to do investment in your country and at the same time further
our education. We got your contact address through our late fathers
international business directory and we decided to contact you to
seek for your kind assistance in helping us invest our inheritance
in your country. We lost our parents few years ago. Our father and
his half brother were murdered by

Please permit our introduction


I am Alfonso Williams and my Sister name Linda. We are writing to seek
your help and advice. We want to do investment in your country and at the
same time further our education. We got your contact address through our
late fathers international business directory and we decided to contact
you to seek for your kind assistance in helping us invest our inheritance
in your country.
We lost our parents few years ago. Our father and his half brother were
murdered by assailants during a midnight rebel shootout in our country
Sierra Leone. Our mother sustained a very severe bullet injury the same
night which resulted to her untimely death four days after she was rushed
down to a private hospital.
Shortly before this unfortunate incident, my father had informed me about
an important business deal he had executed with some of his colleagues in
the office. He told me that he diverted some money totalling $8,300.000
which they realized from the sale of gold and diamonds in the black
market. He told me that he deposited the money in the bank in Abidjan Cote
d’Ivoire west Africa.
Now we want to finally relocate to your country with this money so that we
can start a new life and further our education. We have visited the bank
where our father deposited the money and identified ourselves properly and
informed them about the sad fate our father had suffered.
We will need your help in the following ways, to help us provide your safe
bank account and to help us stand as our guardian over this money before
the bank so that they will release and transfer the money to you and also
help us bring us over to your country and secure a good college for me and
my little sister so that we can continue our college education and also
make arrangement for a good business investment which you will invest with
the money on our behalf. We will give you 15% of the money as
compensation. If you can help us do this, we will need your contact to
submit to the bank as our guardian so that the bank will contact you. We
hope to hear from you soon. Thank you and May God bless you and your
family.


Yours Sincerely
Alfonso and Linda


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