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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: "Justin Walkers" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <jwalkers@blumail.org>
Date: Fri, 17 Dec 2010 16:43:08 -0000
Subject: Reply + Urgent

Justin Walkers (Esq).
48 Gracechurch Street
London EC3V 0EJ
United Kingdom
 
Re: HS/UK/INHE/FD-2010
 
Hello,
 
Your identity and contact was made known to me in my desperate quest to successfully locate the next of kin
to an account file forwarded to mine desk for liquidation. I am Barrister Justin Walkers, I work with
the legal department of the HSBC Bank in London. It is my job to see that any unclaimed account resulting from demise of account holder is
certified and confirmed UNCLAIMED. Before final liquidation instruction is passed on any such account file.
 
With the above explanation of my responsibility/obligation in carrying out my duty, I was necessitated to making contact with you because an
account file due for liquidation and currently valued at US$15.3 Million (Fifteen million, three hundred Thousand US Dollars) was
forwarded to my office for final search of next of kin to the deceased account holder, this account was last operated in April 2006.
 
I have tried to locate the next of kin to this account but to no avail. In my quest to locate such person, I came across your identity.
Coincidentally you bear the same surname as the holder of the account in question and that is the major reason for my contact with you. I
have been mandated to provide next of kin to this account or have the account confiscated within thirty official working days.
 
Therefore I seize this opportunity to make a confidential transaction proposal to you as follows: -
 
1. We both work together on this file; I will use my official capacity to front you as the next of kin to this account file. All files
    relating to this account will be amended to suit our plight.
 
2. I will be your lawyer here in London, who will be standing in on your behalf while the claim suit is going on. I will be directing the
    affairs of the claim suit from behind the scene.
 
3. Once claim of account approval by virtue of next of kin is passed in favour of us.[you] We shall have the proceeds of the account
    shared/disbursed as follows:-{i} 80% to be shared equally (40:40) between both parties (you and me)
 
{ii} 20% will be set aside for expenses incurred in the course of execution of the transaction.
     We might have to indulge in a bit of lobbying to scale through a few bureaucratic bottleneck procedures and to gain claim and transfer
     approval quickly.
 
    All I require is your honest co-operation to enable us seeing this deal through. I guarantee that this will be executed under a legitimate
    arrangement that will protect you from any breach of the Law. Upon your critical scrutiny of the above mentioned proposal and 3 point
    operational module.
 
 
    Reply via my private Email for further clarification
 
   I expect to hear from you as soon as possible.
 
   Sincerely,
   Barrister Justin Walkers

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