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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: James Finch <jamesfinch94@outlook.com>
Date: Tue, 1 Jul 2014 23:41:38 +0200 (CEST)
Subject: Urgent Response.

>From Mr James Finch, Phone: +447937460052 E-mail: jamesfinch94@outlook.com Please pay attention and understand my aim of e-mailing you today, my name is James Finch, Relationship Manager at NatWest Bank plc. London. I ask you consider this transaction with strict and utmost confidentiality. Being a top executive at NATWEST Bank, I discovered a numbered account with a credit balance of £27,900,000.00 (Twenty Seven Million, Nine Hundred Thousand British Pounds) that belongs to one of our foreign customers (JOHN SMITH) Deceased, an American who was a victim of Hurricane Katrina in August 2005. With my position at the bank, I have all access, secret details and necessary contacts to claim these funds without any hitch. I only need your HELP as a foreigner to assume the beneficiary, because my position as a civil servant and a staff of the bank does not permit me or my relatives to make this claim. Therefore, I want you to stand as the “Foreign Beneficiary", and I assure you of a perfect transfer strategy that will be placed in your name legally, so that nobody will suspect your claims. For your assistance to achieve this greatness, you are entitled to 40% of the total sum GBP£27,900,000.00. Upon consideration of the offer, please provide me (Your full name, Contact address and your direct telephone/fax number) to enable me re-profile the fund to your name as the beneficiary and guide your contact with NatWest bank for the release and transfer of the fund to any bank account of your choice. Considering the volume of discretion required for success of this project, i ask your reply to my private email: jamesfinch94@outlook.com, feel free to call me for clear explanations. Thanking you in anticipation of your immediate reply. Yours truly, Mr James Finch, Relationship Manager NatWest Bank Plc. London

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