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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: "Barrister Williams" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <private_con006@sbcglobal.net>
Date: Tue, 1 Feb 2011 03:16:12 -0800
Subject: FROM Barrister Ifeoma Williams Esq

I hope that this meet in good health. My name is Barrister Ifeoma Williams Esq.legal professional and adivcer to  late oil dealer who died in the crash of Yak-40 plane on 9 March 2006. My late client was an influential wealthy businessman, a contractor in my country and a supplier of oil to the great and the principal owner of Oil Alliance Company and left behind a deposit of five million dollars U.S. ($ 5,000,000.00 USD) in your bank account established in a commercial bank in Nigeria. That is one of the main reasons was very important to locate their relatives.(Next of Kin).
 
After the death of my client his bankers contacted me, as his lawyer to provide his family should inherit his fortune. The board of directors of his bank adopted a resolution, which was mandated to provide their family to pay this money or lose money to the bank as an abandoned Estate. The bankers had planned to invoke a clause in the Property Law to confiscate the funds after the expiration of a deadline given to me.
  
This was while I was searching for family records on the Internet that I came across your contact, bearing the same surname with my client and country.I have searched through almost the entire genealogy page that you can imagine, both at home and all places I thought my clients have had possibly a family member, but all my efforts to locate family members fails.
  
Desperate and at the point of despair, I came across your name while trying to locate documentation regarding possible relatives of my client in their country of origin.Convinced you may be able to act as next of kin to  my late client their families, therefore,i decided that contact you  with these facts before me because of the situation. By virtue of my report and my closeness to the deceased, I am well aware of the financial situation of my client and the bank that operates here in my country.I have reasoned very professionally and I think it will be legally proper to present you as the family of my client who died and the sole beneficiary of his estate, as both were from the same country and the same surname, to be paid from funds remaining in your bank account, hence I contacted. I seek your consent to present as their own law, the bank needs only the facts legally.
  
The rest is between you and me and my guide who may have paid on your account, once this is done we will share both the funds. 50% for me and 40% for you, while 10% should be for taxes that the Government may require, I will gather all necessary legal documents that will be used to support our claim.
  
All you need is your honest cooperation to enable us to see through this agreement that guarantees that this will be executed under a legitimate arrangement that will protect you from any violation of law. Please contact me.and forward to me your full name and address to facilitate communication
  
Sincerely,
Barrister Ifeoma Williams Esq.
 

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