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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: "Mr. Francis Adegbota Walechim" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <adegbote@yahoo.com.hk>
Date: Sat, 8 Dec 2012 15:11:28 -0600
Subject: Information for our mutual benefit

Mr. Francis Adegbota,
Exxon Mobil Corporation,
International Procurement/Contract Department,
Mobil House,
Victoria Street, Lagos, Nigeria.
 
 
Greetings friend,
 
 
I am Mr. Francis Adegbota Walechim, the Manager of Exxon Mobil Corporation International Procurement and contract Department, I write to seek your consent to carry out a transaction that would be highly beneficial to you and me. I know you may be wondering why I am contacting you on this despite the fact that we do not know each other or may have met before,
I have decided to do this with you as a foreigner to avoid any form of blackmail in the future.
 
A foreigner was awarded a contract in the year 2001 on the supply of heavy duty and light duty crude oil drilling equipment that include purchase and supply of Christmas Trees, Drilling pipes, sucker rod elevator and wellhead equipment etc, which the contract value is Eighteen Million Five Hundred Thousand United States Dollars (USD18, 500,000:00) on the completion of the supply through the MV BARCO shipping on the 13th of March 2001 at our offshore plat Form in Excravos, after Ninety  days of delivery the payment was instructed and the domiciliary bank account of the company here in Nigeria was credited of this amount on 28th of June 2001.
 
Ever since this account was credited the bank here has expected the routine running of this account, but this has not been possible, on more investigation or effort was discovered that the managing director and sole CEO of this Company was involved in a gas explosion in United Kingdom that led to his death.
 
Since his death, the management of this bank has made series of efforts to locate his family but all efforts proved abortive. I also carried out Series of research to find his family but it was confirmed that the mother who was the only surviving member of the family, died of cardiac arrest on getting the news of the sons death.  He was already divorced before his death and due to this fact; no one has come forward to put in claim to this deposit with the bank, which by now has an accrued interest for 11 years.
 
My purpose of contacting you now is this:
 
My Company (Exxon Mobil Corporation)  during the last executive board meeting announce the arrangement by the bank that this fund has been lying dormant since the year 2001, that if by the end of this year and there is no beneficiary to the said account, the account will be confiscated and the fund sent to the bank treasury and this is where I am interested in and wants you to come in, as I have responded to the bank that a foreigner has contacted me as the business Associate of this late contractor on this very contract payment my company is not aware of this arrangement.
 
I want you to come in as the business Associate of this late contractor to arrange the release of the money to you by re-profiling the ownership with your details, provided you are ready and willing to cooperate with me. I can guide you confidently on the process to the claim and release of the fund to you for our mutual benefit instead of allowing the money to be forfeited to the Government, because the rightful owner is a citizen of your country.
 
On the completion of this fund into your account, the sharing should be thus:-
50% is for me as the initiator and I will confidently hand over to you all the essential documents on this very contract that the payment is lying unclaimed in the bank, you will also guide me on the investment of this my share into real estate there in your country.
45% should be for you as my partner, considering the essential role that you will play in this transaction.
5% should be for hidden expense reimbursement that should be incurred on the legal actualization of this project in your favor.
 
What I need is the conviction that you have the capacity to receive and invest such volume of fund in a legal business for our mutual benefit, Please email me the following:-
 
Name in full
Address in Full
Your Mobile/cell phone number
Brief information this should include your age, marital status and nature of Job.
 
I wish to stop for now until I am certain we can do this together, then I will give you more details.
 
I await your urgent response.
 
Regards,
 
Mr. Francis Adegbota Walechim.

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