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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: (sent from abused email account)
Reply-To: charlotte.reidbc@outlook.com
Date: Thu, 20 Nov 2014 17:40:41 +0200
Subject: KIN VERIFICATION.


Hello,
My name is Charlotte Reid; I work for Barnes Consulting in England.
This is a standard process investigation concerning a client who shares
the same name with you and the circumstances surrounding investments made
by this client.

The aforementioned client had investments with ABSA, a member of the
Barclays group. Unfortunately, he died intestate.
The purpose of this communication with you is to inquire about the following;

- Do you have any relative whose last known contact address was Zurich,
Switzerland?
- If yes, are you aware of any investment of considerable value made by
such a person at ABSA?
- If yes to both of the above, can you establish beyond reasonable doubt
your eligibility to assume status of next of kin to the deceased?

It is vital that you inform us whether or not you are familiar with this
personality to enable us conclude our investigation. Thank you for
accommodating our inquiries.


Yours sincerely,
Charlotte Reid
Barnes Consulting.

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This e-mail is confidential and intended solely for the use of the
individual(s)
to whom it is addressed. If you are not the intended recipient, be advised
that
you have received this e-mail in error and that any use, dissemination,
forwarding, printing, copying of, or any action taken in reliance upon it, is
strictly prohibited and may be illegal.

------------------------------------------------------------------------


Anti-fraud resources: