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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: "Musa Abdullah" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <musaabudullah2010@yahoo.cn>
Date: Mon, 8 Aug 2011 23:07:28 +0100
Subject: Dearest in Mind

Dearest in Mind
 
 
It is my pleasure to write you after consideration, since I can not be able to see you face to face, at first, please I need your help. I am Musa Abdullah, the only Son of late Mr & Mrs Muhammed Abdullah, from Sierra-Leone  (I am 22years of age.) My father was a liability Cocoa and Gold merchant in Sierra-Leone  before his untimely death. After his business trip to Tunisia, to nagociate on a cocoa and gold business he wanted to invest in Tunisia, a week after he came back from Tunisia, he got an accident with my mother of which my mother died instantly but my father died five days after in a private hospital. On that faithful afternoon, I didnt know that my father was going to leave me after I had earlier lost my mother, but before he gave up the ghost, it was as if he knew he was going to die. He my father, (MAY HIS SOUL REST IN PERFECT PEACE) he called me to his bed side and told me that he deposited the sum of ($9,000.000.00) Nine Million,United State Dollars.  in a bank in Cote D'Ivoir
 
That the money was meant for his cocoa and Gold business he wanted to establish in Tunisia, according to my father he deposited the money in a fixed suspense account using my name as the next of kin, He instructed me to seek for a reliable and trust worthy business partner for my life time investment abroad. Now I have succeeded in locating the deposit documents and the bank where this money is in Abidjan, Cote D'Ivoire. Due to political problem in our country I am Now seeking for your assistance to help me transfer this money out from this country Cote D'Ivoire to your account abroad so that we should invest it in any meaningful and lucrative business in your country because this is my only hope in life. I am willing to offer you 20% of the total fund if only you can help me out of my present predicame.
 
I seek your assistance in the follwing ways:
 
(1.) To provide a bank account where this money can be transfered into.
(2.) To make arrangements for me to come over to your country after the successful transfering of this money into your account, to come and further my education.
(3.) To help invest this money in a profitable business since I am only 22yrs of age and do not know much about business.
(4)  To sponsor me transfer this money into your account to help me pay for all the trasaction charges and for all the documents that will be needed from the bank and that is the reason why i promise to offer you 20% out of the total found.
(5). I want you to promise me that you are not going to betray me after the money gets into your account.
 
The worst part of it is that my uncle is trying to kill me over this money because I refused to hand him over the documents covering this money, He has sold all my father's landed properties including his cars which rightful belong to me and now he want me to hand over the banking document of my father in my possesion which I refused. Now he said that he will have this money by all means even if it means killing me, so because of this I ran away from our country Sierra-Leone i am now in Abidjan, Cote D'Ivoire were the money is deposit and hide in a hotel,pending when this money will be transfered so that I can leave the country for my safty Please reply me
 
Thank's and God bless you.
 
Yours sincerely,
Musa Abdullah
 

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