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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: "Mario Ettore" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <ettore_mario@yahoo.co.uk>
Date: Mon, 26 Jan 2015 13:47:57 -0800
Subject: Awaiting for your immediate response

Greetings! Firstly, I must solicit your confidence in this transaction, this is by virtue of its nature as being utterly confidential and top secret. Though I know that a transaction of this magnitude will make any one apprehensive and worried, but I am assuring you that all will be well at the end of the day. Let me start by first introducing myself properly to you. It may surprise you receiving this letter from me, since there was no previous correspondence between us. My name is Maria Ettore, Treasurer to Late Ms. Karol, an expatriate engineer who has worked with the Mining and Smelting Company (Asturiana de Zinc S.A. United Kingdom).

My purpose of contacting you is for you to help secure a cash deposit left behind by my late Boss, to avoid it being confiscated or declared unserviceable by the Bank where this cash deposit valued $50,000,000.00 (Fifty Million United States Dollars Only) this money was deposited by my late Boss before she passed away, she died of stroke and cancer on the 16th April, 2003, she left the fund with no Will and up till today her relatives remained unknown.

All relevant documents and information as regards to the cash deposit is in my possession as we speak therefore I guarantee the success of this transaction in all legal definitions. As his Treasurer, I have contacted the bank for the claim of the fund and the Bank has issued me a notice to contact the next of kin or the account will be declared unserviceable and the fund will be retired by the State. This type of incident is not new, there are many people who try to evade taxes in their country of origin by depositing their money in a foreign secret accounts but I never knew my late Boss had one until her accidental death and the eventual disclosure from my contact in the bank. Since this account is secret and there is no one left to claim the fund I am contacting you. I am actually asking for your consent to present you to the Bank as the Next of Kin/beneficiary of my late Boss' fund, since you have the same last name, so that the fund will be released
to you as his next of kin. All the legal documents to back up your claim as my Boss' next of Kin will be procured. All I require is your honest cooperation and absolute confidentiality in order to guarantee success.

Upon the completion of the transaction I wish to point out that I want 10% of this money to be shared among the Charity Organizations, while the remaining will be shared equally between us. Please be assured that this transaction is entirely risk free as I guarantee the legality and success of this transaction. For more information please contact me.

If this business proposal offends your moral ethics, do accept my sincere apology but if on the contrary you wish to achieve this goal with me, kindly contact me with your interest to enable me start the process of claim immediately.

Awaiting for your immediate response.

Best Regards,

Mario Ettore

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