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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: "Ecowas" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <agyemanapiah.apiah@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 24 Feb 2010 17:12:47 -0000
Subject: Ecowas Bid

Dear.

I am Mr. Agyeman Apiah, a staff of the secretariat of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in Lome, Togo.
ECOWAS is awarding contracts for the supply of Relief Materials - Rice, Cloths & Sleeping materials, and Beverages for victims of drought in the Niger republic and displaced refugees in western Sudan – Darfur.
The statutes do not permit any staff of ECOWAS to participate in contract bids and execution in order to avoid the abuse of due process and corporate governance. In view of this, I am looking for a reputable individual or corporate body that would secure the bid and execute the contract.

The good thing about the ECOWAS contracts is that:

(1) The contracts are very lucrative, because they are usually awarded at about 10 times the prevalent market value of the products.
(2) Once you are successful in the bid, 75% of the total contract sum is paid upfront as mobilization.

Thus, the contract does not necessarily require ownership of a big company; all that is required is your ability to convince the ECOWAS consultants (in Ghana) of your integrity, reliability and competence in the execution of the job.
As an insider, I will provide you with all the necessary pre-qualification documents, prepare a competitive sample quotation after looking at the quotation of other contractors, and make available all necessary information which will give you an edge over the others and ensure that you emerge the winner at the bid conference. In return for my assistance, I will have a ten percent commission from the profit.
If you accept my submission, please contact me on Tel: + 233 26 166 7340, Email: agyemanapiah.apiah@gmail.com

Sincerely,
Agyeman Apiah

Anti-fraud resources: