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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: BENJAMIN OVIA <oviabenjamin@hotmail.com>
Date: Thu, 12 Feb 2015 20:30:32 +0100
Subject: =?windows-1256?Q?Confidenti?= =?windows-1256?Q?al_Busines?=
=?windows-1256?Q?s_Proposal?= =?windows-1256?B?/v7+/v4=?=

Dear/ MadamFirstly, I apologize for sending you this sensitive information via e-mail instead of a Certified mail/Post-mail. This is due to the urgency and importance of the information. I humbly crave your indulgence to read this e-mail with all seriousness of purpose because this project is based on Trust, confidentiality and sincerity of purpose in order to have an acceptable meeting of the minds. I got your contact information from a web directory few weeks ago before I decide to contact you on this business opportunity and I don't want you to misunderstand this offer in any aspect, if it is okay with you, assure me of your full co-operation, My name is Benjamin Ovia ; I am the managing director in one of the leading Banks here in West Africa, also an account officer to late Mr. Rafic Hariri, Born in Lebanon in 1944, and the late Rafik Hariri was a Lebanese self-made billionaire and business tycoon, and was five times Prime Minister of Lebanon.You can view this site for confirmation.http://www.rhariri.com/general.aspx?pagecontent=biographyI write you this mail base on trust and circumstances surrounding the huge deposits of Great British Pounds which Mr. Rafic Hariri deposited in a Private Banking arm of our bank before he died. Mr. Rafic Hariri died in testate and nominated no successor in title over the huge deposits of (GBP36, 759, 000.00). So on this magnitude, I want to simply nominate you as the next of kin to my late client Mr. Rafic Hariri to my bank and have the funds release to you as the real heir to my late client as I don’t want to seat and watch my client hard earned money go into CBN/ government treasury as unclaimed deposit.The request of you being the next of kin in this transaction is occasioned by the fact that you are a foreigner as my late client.Upon your acceptance to work with me, I'm prepared to share the money with you 50/50.As a Bank Director, I want to assure you that we will execute this transaction under a legitimate arrangement that will protect us from any breach of the law as all the entire legal documents to back up the claim will be provide but the most important thing I need is your honest cooperationAlthough I know that a transaction of this extent might make anyone apprehensive but I would like to assure you that I am proposing this project to you with the best of intention, I am aware of the consequences of this proposal so ask that if you find no interest in this project, discard this mail and forget I ever contacted you. Do not destroy my career because you do not approve of my proposal. You may not know this, but people like me who have made tidy sums out of comparable situations run the whole private banking sector. I am not a criminal and what I do, I find no good conscience, this may be hard for you to understand, but the dynamics of my industry dictates that I make this move as such opportunities only come ones in a lifetime. I have found myself in total control of my destiny if we can work together to claim this fund. Please listen, this is real and it happens in Banks all over the world without people knowing. Let us utilize this opportunity because it does not come always. A lot of customers open private accounts with different Banks without the knowledge of their families and when they die, such monies will be lost to the Bank unless someone comes to claim it. This is how a lot of Bank Directors make so much money silently.There is a reward for this project and it is a task well worth undertaking. I have evaluated the risks and the only risk I have here is from you refusing to work with me. I am the only one who knows of this situation, good fortune has blessed with a name that has planted into the center of relevance in life. So let’s share the blessing. If you give me positive signals, I will initiate this process towards a conclusion. I send you this mail not without a measure of fear as to what the consequences, but I know within me that nothing ventured is nothing gained and that success and riches never come easy or on a platter of gold. This is the one truth I have learned from my private banking customers. Do not betray my confidence. If we can be of one accord, we should plan a meeting, soon.I wait your immediate response.Regards,Benjamin Ovia

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