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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: "Fl..........." (may be fake)
Reply-To: <flm123@blumail.org>
Date: Thu, 2 Feb 2012 17:24:38 -0000
Subject: Consent Sought

Hello,

I am writing to seek your consent to act as a beneficiary or kin with respect to payment of some money in a bank belonging to a deceased customer whose name is not stated in this mail for reasons of privacy and my personal safety in the event that you decline this proposition. There is an inactive account with some money belonging to a deceased customer of the bank. The records for this deposit did not indicate any beneficiary or kin in the event of death of the depositor.

I want you to act as the kin to the depositor of the funds, note that the money is going to be shared between us, We are offering you 30% of the total sum while 65% will be for us and 5% will be set aside for securing legal documents that will validate you as the next of kin.

For further interest in this regard you are required to send your full names as they appear on your driver's license or international passport, a passport photograph, your direct telephone number, and your contact address which will be used for the legal documentation of this transaction. Once in receipt of your positive response, I will intimate you with the entire process for this claim.

Regards,
Fl.

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