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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: "Hunters" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <heirhunterberstain@aol.co.uk>
Date: Sat, 9 Nov 2013 00:35:30 +0200
Subject: Heir Hunters (Your right to claim lost inheritance)

Hello Dear,

I am writing you from Heir Hunters Company in the United kingdom, Heir Hunters probate detectives looking for distant relatives of people who have died without making a will, the United Kingdom government last year made over GBP18m from unclaimed assets.
When people die intestate (without a will) and with no known relatives, their names are released by the Treasury. Every Thursday, a list of these unclaimed estates, the Bona Vacantia (Latin for "ownerless goods") is published on the Treasury Solicitor's website. The race is then on for heir locators to track down the often distant relatives in line for a windfall. Often heir hunters pick more unusual names first, as they are easier to trace.
We came across your profile and email while searching through genealogy database, we will be glad if you can get back to us with your full name, date of birth, address and your direct number if it corresponds to the information we have in our data base in order to enable us carry out necessary verification processes and to get your claim across to you without any delay.
Heir Hunters have handed over thousands and millions of funds to heirs who have no idea of their fortune, some of them, Holocaust victims estates, whom some of their heirs tried to flee war-torn Europe, but did any of them survive to claim these fortune?
We will gladly answer this question for you.
Very Truly Yours
Mrs.Sarah Bernstein
Email:heirhunterberstain@aol.co.uk
Tel:+44 770 006 5203
Head of Operations (Claims Heir Hunters)

Anti-fraud resources: