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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: "Mr Rickey Tarfa" <rickeytarfa@live.com>
Reply-To: <rickeytarfa@rickeytarfa.eu>
Date: Tue, 4 May 2010 16:35:27 -0700
Subject: Dear Sir,How are you today?

Dear Sir/Madam
 
I am Prof. Rickey Tarfa, Legal Practitioners and notary public. I am contacting on a very confidential issue which involves transfer of a huge sum of money from a deceased account. Though I know that a transaction of this magnitude will make any one apprehensive and worried, but I am assuring you that everything has been well taken care off, and all will be well at the end of the day. I decided to contact you due to the urgency of this transaction and its confidentiality.
 
I am an attorney to Late Mr. Tom Hopkins, an American Oil Contractor based in United Arab Emirates who died in an air crash along with his wife and 3 kids on the 31st October 1999 in an Egyptian airline 990 with other passengers on board. The Egypt Airline 990 which took off from JFK International Airport, New York was on its way to Dubai ,United Arab Emirates enroute Cairo, Egypt when it crash into the Atlantic Ocean killing everybody on board.
 
During his life time the Late Mr. Tom Hopkins operates an offshore account with an European Bank which I will not like to mention here for security reasons and  as his trusted attorney I am privy to the deposit  and it contains a total of  Twenty Eight Million Two Hundred and Thirty One Thousand Euro Only.
 
Since his death, his bankers have severally communicated with me to present Late Mr. Tom Hopkins next of kin who will apply and claim the above stated deposited contained in his account but the problem is that Late Mr. Tom Hopkins died along with his family in the plane crash and all effort to trace any other members of his family has proved abortive.
 
My problem now is that his bankers contacted me few days ago and informed me that if  by the end of this year and Late Mr. Tom Hopkins next of kin do not apply to claim this deposit ,  that the money will be called back to the bank treasury as unclaimed bills and confiscated as the law allows banks to keep such deposit for only 15 years after which the bank can confiscate the deposit and return same to the Government.
 
It is on this note I decided to seek for whom his name shall be used as the next of kin/beneficiary to this funds rather than allow the bank directors to share this money amongst them at the end of the year. It may interest you to know that I have secured from the probate an order of mandamus to locate any of the deceased beneficiaries.
 
It is on this note I now seek your permission to have you stand as a next of kin to the deceased, as all documentations portraying you as the next of kin to late Mr. Tom Hopkins will be carefully worked out by me.
 
1. Your Full Name, Address and copy of identification (passport or drivers license to enable me process the Documents portraying you as the next of kin.
 
2. Direct Telephone/Fax for our personal Contacts.
 
I shall be compensating you with 30% of the total sum on final conclusion of this project for your assistance.
 
Do not take undue advantage of the trust I have bestowed in you by informing you of this transaction as I will advise you to kindly desist from responding at all if you do not intend to render any assistance. Endeavor to respond via my secured email address:rickeytarfa@rickeytarfa.eu
 
 
Thanks and best regards,
 
Mr. Rickey Tarfa
Rickey Tarfa & co
Legal Practitioners and notary public
Email:rickeytarfa@rickeytarfa.eu
Tel No:+44-7024013763

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