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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: Samuel Sarpong <samuelsarpong9014@gmail.com>
Reply-To: samuelsarpong444@yahoo.com
Date: Wed, 6 Aug 2014 02:41:57 +0100
Subject: Dear friend

Dear friend,

I am Mr. Samuel Sarpong; I am the Deputy Managing Director In Charge
Of Operations in the department of accounts division of Ghana
Commercial Bank .On February 27th 2006, one of our high profile
patrons Mr. Richard has a numbered time (fixed) deposit, for twelve
calendar months in my bank branch.Upon maturity, we sent a routine
notification to his forwarding address but got no reply. after a
month, we sent a reminder and finally we discovered from his contract
employers that, On The 22nd Of August 2006, It Was Reported To Us,
That Our client,While Returning From Vacation With His Family From
Russia, All Died In The Tupolev-154 Crash Leaving From Black Sea
Holiday Resort Of Anapa To St.Petersburg.Our Client And His Entire
Family Unfortunately Lost Their Lives In The Crash. See the below link
for read more news about the
aircrash:http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/5274958.stm

After further inquest, it was discovered that he died without making a
will and all attempts to trace his next of kin proved futile. On
further inquisition, it was discovered that late Mr. Richard did not
declare any next of kin or relations in all his official documents,
including his bank deposit paperwork here at the bank. The total sum
is US$9.5m still in my bank and the interest is being rolled over with
the principal sum at the end of each year. No one will ever come
forward to claim it. In accord with the federal banking laws and
constitution, the money will revert to the ownership of the government
if nobody applies as the next of kin to claim the funds. Consequently,
I shall present you as a foreigner to stand in, as the next of kin to
this gentleman, since you have same last name with the deceased, so
that the proceeds of this account can be paid to you, for us to share.
Upon acceptance of this proposal, i shall give you detailed
information on how this deal would be carried out. We shall employ the
services of an advocate for the drafting of the letter of probate in
your favor, and to obtain all other relevant papers in your name for
the necessary documentation for payment endorsement in my bank.

The money will be shared in the ratio: fifty percent for me, forty
five percent for you and five percent for any arising contingencies or
expenses during the course of this transaction. I guarantee you that
this will be executed under a legitimate arrangement that will protect
you from any breach of the law or any legal plight, as i will use my
position in the bank to secure approvals and guarantee the successful
execution of this transaction. Please be informed that your extreme
discretion is required. If this interests you, please reply me
directly by email and indicate your full name, address date of birth,
your contact telephone and fax numbers respectively. Upon receipt of
your response, I will prepare a text of application you will send to
my bank headquarters for payment approval in your favor. I await your
urgent reply.

Best regards,
Mr.Samuel Sarpong
+233 276990176.

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