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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: "Paul D. Johnson" <pauljohnson2005@yahoo.com>
Reply-To: pauljohnson.jp17@yahoo.com
Date: Mon, 5 Apr 2010 09:09:13 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Thanks for your anticipated cooperation and assistance


Dear Sir,
 
I came across your profile on the internet, while searching for a reliable and trust-worthy person that could assist me to relocate to your country. While browsing your profile, my spirit tells me that you are a trust-worthy and reliable person that could assist me to secure my inheritance, without cheating me. Hence, i ve decided to  confide in you. 
 
Please do not disregard this letter as one of those unsolicited scam emails that is commmon on the internet these days. God knows that i am contacting with good faith, because i am in urgent need of a reliable and God fearing person from your country, who would assist me to secure and manage my inheritance as my Trustee and Guardian as well as to relocate to your country. I can send you some proof and legal docuemnts concerning my inheritance for your perusal.
 
I am Paul Johnson,  a 24 years old boy, a college graduate, the only son of The Late Mr. Samuel Johnson of blessed memory, who died 6 months ago after a brief illness, before my dad passed a way he confided in me about the sum of US$15Million only, which he deposited with a Financial Institution with my name as the beneficiary. 
 
After the death of my father, my uncle asked me to entrust on him the funds i inherited from my deceased father, so that he shall invest/manage it for me. But i refused, and since then i observed that he is not happy with me and he has been trying by all means to claim my inheritance from the financial institution where the funds are deposited.
 
In view of this, i was advised by a family friend and one elderly man in our village, that i should make plans and leave our country and relocate to any other country i prefers, because he said that my uncle is very wicked, dangerous and desperate to claim my inherited funds, that he (my uncle) has been plotting to kill me with poison or through hire assasins, because if he (my uncle) succeeds in get rid of me that he could claim my inheritance as my uncle, since my mother and father are dead and i am the only survivor of my fathers family.
 
After considering his advice, i have decided to leave this country and relocate to your country to start a new life and further my education over there,  as well as move and invest my inheritance funds over there.
 
Because, i would like to live and further my education in your country, hence, i have decided to contact you and seek for your cooperation assistance, since i do not know any one over there in your country.
 
Hence, I am soliciting for your kind assistance to function as my Trustee/ Guardian, because the financial institution where my dad deposited the funds for me insists that they would not release the funds to me, unless i introduce a Responsible and Reliable adult who would sign and receive the funds as my Trustee/ Guardian, according to the Last Testament WILL of my Late father.
 
If you accept to function as my Trustee/ Guardian; i shall introduce you to the financial institution and instruct them to transfer the funds to you, so that you shall invest and manage the funds for into any profitable business you shall recommend over there on my behalf, as well as assist me to releocate to your country.
 
I have visited the Financial Institution and have briefed them about my plans to transfer the funds to oversea for security and investment purpose, and they have indicated their readiness to release and transfer my inheritance funds to any reliable and responsible person i appoints as my Trustee/Guardian.
 
However, the manager of the Financial Institution insists that whoever shall function as my Trustee / Guardian must visit their office to sign the necessary Trustee Acceptance documents or the person shall tender a Letter of Acceptance stating that he or she have duly accepted to become my Trustee/ Guardian, according to my late dad's instruction, and then they shall release and transfer the funds to the person as my Trustee/Guardian.
 
So it would be better if you could visit my country here to sign the necessary papers as my Trustee/Guardian at the Financial Institution, and then see things your self, because  seeing in believing.  So that you will confirm that this transaction is real. But in case you could not be able to visit my country soonest, you can just send the Letter of Acceptance to the financial institution.
 
In conclusion, i would like to introduce you as my Trustee/Guardian to the Financial Institution, so that they would release and transfer the funds to you as my Trustee/Guardian.
 
If you could assist me in a transparent and honest manner with the Fear of God, please do not hesitate to send me your full names, address, telephone/fax numbers and copy of your means of Identification. Also, let me know how many percentage you would like to retain as your commission after assisting me.
 
I am counting on you,please dont turn me down, because my Life and Inheritance is not safe here. Remember the Bible tells us ''To be our brothers keeper''.
 
Thanks for your anticipated cooperation and assistance, may The Almighty God bless you and your family, Amen.
 
 Yours Faithfully,
Paul Johnson,
10, Kwame Nkrumah Avenue,
Accra, Ghana



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