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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: "ALBERT CHONG" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <albert.chong@gmx.com>
Date: Mon, 26 Sep 2011 04:03:04 +0800
Subject: NEXT OF KIN

Dear Friend,
 
I am Albert Chong, a Malaysian and a seasoned Accountant with   HSBC Bank Malaysia Berhad Office. It is with good spirit of heart I opened up   this great opportunity to you. A deceased client of mine that shares the same last name as yours died as a result of heart-related   condition on March 12th 2005.  His heart condition was due to the death of all the members of his family in the tsunami disaster on the 26th December 2004 in Sumatra Indonesia where they all lost their lives.
 
Currently his account of (US$19,305,050.12) Nineteen Millions Three Hundred and Five Thousand, Fifty Dollars and Twelve Cents only with us has been unclaimed due to unavailability of next of kin/relatives to claim his estate.
 
Since none of the family relative is alive to claim these funds, haven waited until now for any relative next of kin to surface in our custody; I decided to contact you fast so that I can present you as the relative next of kin to my late client before the funds are confiscated. You don’t need to worry yourself in this transaction; I will provide the legal documents needed for the successful claim of the funds in your name and favour.
 
Hence I am seeking your cooperation and understanding to stand as the deceased next of kin to enable us claim the inheritance before the period given elapse. If you are interested and in agreement to work with me, get back to me quickly and I will send to you all our contacts and the information you may need to proceed. The proceedings will be shared 40% for you 50% for me and 10% for any unforeseen expenses we incurred during this process.
 
Sincerely Yours
Albert Chong

Anti-fraud resources: