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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: "ADE SANFORD" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <adesanford@yahoo.cn>
Date: Sat, 11 Feb 2012 09:44:53 -0800
Subject: 10/02/2012

RESPOND VIA:


adesanford@yahoo.cn



Dear Friend,


I am Ade Sanford, the Human Resources Executive of Atlantic Oil & Gas Corporation. On the 15th of May 2008, Tom Clinton, an expatriate, who was a consultant/contractor with the Corporation, was found to have died in a plane crash along the Lekki Peninsula while on inspection tour of offshore
oilfacilities belonging to the Corporation.As the Welfare Director of the corporation, I contacted Toms bankers and briefed them of this development. The bankers informed me that since their client is dead, it is only the next of kin to the deceased with the proper legal documents that can compel them to pay his fixed deposit as an inherited estate. With the position of the financial outfit, I mandated the legal department of our firm to search for a relative of the deceased so that he can be presented as the next of kin to the bank.


But the only relative of the deceased, one Mr. Sam Leonard who was also the next of kin to the deceased according to his bank documents and who was last known to have lived in Latvia Eastern Europe, died as cancer patient some two months before his death. All efforts to trace other relatives of the deceased proved abortive, as all available links were exhusted. Three years after his death, with no news from any relative living anywhere and no one coming forward, we decided to seek a foreigner so that the fund can be transferred out of its present account to yours.


The account deposit contains US$12 million United States Dollars and it is important that a probable next of kin claims this fund within the next fourteen official working days. If no one comes for the claim before the stipulated time frame, the account would be closed as inactive and dormant and funds sent to the coffers of the government. This is in consonance with the stipulations of the enabling laws governing foreign inherited estates. I seek your consent to present you as the next of kin of the deceased.This would facilitate the payment of the proceeds of the said account to you.

All I require is your honest cooperation to enable us seeing this through. I guarantee that this will be executed under a legitimate arrangement that will protect all the parties involved from any breach of the law.

Please let me know what you intend to have as your commission if you agree to embark on this venture.


Please reply me via my private email address


adesanford@yahoo.cn


Best Regards,

Ade Sanford.


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