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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. Jim Solomon Obute" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <jsobute@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 29 Jul 2011 00:05:34 +1200
Subject: VERY IMPORTANT LETTER

OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR/COMPTROLLER OF FUNDS,
FINANCE APPRAISAL COMMITTEE, CONTRACT DEPARTMENT,
NIGERIA NATIONAL PETROLEUM CORPORATION (NNPC),
CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS,
ABUJA - NIGERIA.

Dear friend,

TERMS OF REFERENCE

My names are Mr. Jim Solomon Obute. I got your contact information from a reputable business/professional directory of your country which gives me an assurance of your credibility and reliability as a person. My terms of reference involves the financial management and disbursement of proceeds from sale of petroleum products, award of contracts to multinational companies, screening and categorization of projects embarked upon by this Corporation (NNPC), feasibility study for selected projects and supervising the project consultants involved.

A breakdown of the fiscal expenditure by this office as at the end of the Fourth Quarter of 2010 Fiscal Year indicates that this Corporation paid out a whopping sum of Two Billion, Eight Hundred Million US Dollars to successful contract beneficiaries. The Corporation is now compiling beneficiaries to be paid in this Second Quarter of 2011 Fiscal Year. The crux of this letter is that the Finance Appraisal Committee/Contract Department of this Corporation deliberately over-inflated the contract value of various contracts awarded to the tune of Forty Million, Five Hundred Thousand US Dollars.

This money is now lying and floating in the Corporation's domiciliary account with the Apex Bank, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). My colleagues and I now want to quickly transfer these funds to a safe nominated account for possible investment abroad. We are not allowed as a matter of Government policy to operate any foreign account because of our status as Civil/Public servants hence the need to solicit for your assistance to be a silent foreign partner whose identity we can use to transfer the sum of Forty Million, Five Hundred Thousand U.S Dollars.

A sharing formular of 40% of the total amount for the foreign partner and 60% for myself and colleagues have also been evolved.

Furthermore, we shall be relying on your advice as regards investments of part of our share in your country. Be informed that this business is genuine and 100% safe considering the high-powered government functionaries involved. To conclude this transfer successfully, we shall require your full name and address,Telephone and Fax numbers, Marital Status, Occupation. We have ten (10) working days to conclude this deal on Commencement and I shall join you at the account base for sharing and further discussion on my investment plan in your country.

NOTE: Your occupation or area of business does not really matter in this transaction because upon receiving your full detailed information, I will consult an expert contract Lawyer (Attorney) who will undertake the contract payment process successfully on your behalf.

Looking forward to a healthy business relationship with you.

Yours sincerely,

Jim Solomon Obute

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