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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: "Kenneth Duke" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <kennethduke24@yahoo.com>
Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2012 19:42:38 -0400
Subject: Confidential..

Dear friend,

I would like you to help me in receiving this fund into your bank account,
however. It's just my urgent need for foreign partner that made me contact
you for this transaction. I am the manager of bill and exchange foreign
remittance department of HSBC Bank here in Malaysia. In my department we
discovered an abandoned sum of (U.S. $ 4.2 million dollars) in an account
that belongs to one of our foreign customers is a reactors in France (Mr.
Paul Louis in Paris France) who died along with his entire family in July
2003 in a plane crash on way to France.

I fear that if the money stays in our bank without claim for a long period
of time, our government will intervene, because the banking laws here does
not allow such a huge amount of money to remain idle for more than eight
years. And get this money into your bank account within 10 or 14 days.

Banking law and guideline here stipulates that if such money remained
unclaimed after eight years a higher level, the money is transferred into
the Bank treasury as unclaimed funds. I agree that 30% of this money will
be for you as foreign partner in respect to the provision of a foreign
account, and while 70% would be for me.

If you agree with my business proposal, further details of the transfer
will be sent to you as soon as you receive your return mail. Be sure to
keep this transaction as top secret and make it confidential until we
receive the funds in the account to be provided to the Bank. Do not
disclose to any body, because the secret of this operation and success of
it, have a great day.

I need the following information: -
1. Your full name:
2. Age:
3. Address:
4. Telephone:
5. Occupation

Please reply me immediately
Yours sincerely.

Mr. Kenneth Duke.

Anti-fraud resources: