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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: Tatiana Kouakou <tatianakouakouu@gmail.com>
Reply-To: Tatiana Kouakou <tatianakouakou@hotmail.com>
Date: Tue, 7 Oct 2014 22:43:26 +0000 (UTC)
Subject: BUSINESS LETTER FROM TATIANA


Hello,          Good day to you, my names are Tatiana Kouakou 23 years old from Ivory Coast. I am the only child of my late parents Mr.  Andre Kouakou. My late parent was a wealthy cocoa farmer in our country before they kill them on 31 March 2011 when the crisis in Ivory Coast escalated into full-scale military conflict between forces loyal to Laurent Gbagbo, the president of Ivory Coast since 2000, and supporters of the internationally recognized president-elect Alassane Ouattara. 
After months of unsuccessful negotiations and sporadic violence between supporters of the two sides, the crisis entered a critical stage as Ouattara's forces seized control of most of the country, with Gbagbo entrenched in Abidjan, the country's largest city. International organizations have reported numerous instances of human rights violations by both sides, in particular in the city of Duékoué. The UN and French forces took military action, with the stated objective to protect their forces and civilians. 
Ouattara's forces arrested Gbagbo at his residence on 11 April. I inherited the sum of $5.5 million USD from my late parents. The money was deposited in a bank here by my parents before they were killed. So I need your assistance to claim and transfer this fund to your country for the purpose of joint investment partnership with you and also to relocate there to continue my education. 
I am willing to offer you 20% of the funds as compensation for this help. 
Kindly respond urgently.
Thanks and God bless you.
Yours sincerely,
Tatiana.



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