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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: "Lord Charles Twyford" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <wstn@secretarias.com>
Date: Fri, 19 Aug 2011 12:32:45 +0400
Subject: re:Reply

Hello,
 
Having reviewed all the obstacles and problems surrounding the transfer of your (($2.7 Million) Two Million Seven Hundred United States Dollars and your inability to meet up with some charges levied against you due to the past transfer options. We the Board of Directors, NatWest Bank Plc have ordered our Foreign Payment Remittance Unit to issue you a VISA CARD where your payment will be uploaded.
 
Once you slot in the card confirm the total balance of the account and alert the bank for confirmation. Today, we got the notice that your Payment has been uploaded into this VISA CARD and also have registered it with a COURIER And Delivery Company. For your information, the delivery charges has been paid and they are supposed to have shipped your packaged (ATM CARD) but they insisted that you must re-confirm to them your current delivery address and mobile number to ensure accurate delivery.
 
MOST IMPORTANTLY: Due to the content of the package, the courier company mandated that before your package will be shipped, a Stamp Duty must be procured 
According to the New Shipping Creed on all packages leaving the essence of such Document is to ensure a hitch-free delivery and the amount of the Stamp Duty Fee is 105 USD. When this is done, the Courier Company will issue you with the tracking numbers for your package before the shipping commences.
 
Therefore reconfirm your current delivery address. Do not forget that this $105 USD is all that you should send to them, the rest of the fees have been paid. Finally, for security reasons, and considering the huge amount the ATM Card contains, the package was coded thus, Registration Ref: SYX-287#
 
This is the code number that you will send to the courier company while contacting them and note that the courier company is not aware what the content of the package is. We told them that it contained some very vital official documents being sent to an offshore staff. Do not reveal the content of the package to the courier company or any body for security purposes. The Information of the courier company will be given to you as soon as you respond to this message, with the required information below;.
 
Full Name:
Delivery address:
Tel:
This information will enable us forward it to the courier company for delivery.
 
We await your official response.
 
Thanks,
Lord Charles Twyford ATM Department
Manager
+233207845734
 

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