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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: "Jack Lew" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <usjacklew55@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 12 Jul 2015 22:44:06 +0100
Subject: Good Day

UNITED STATES TREASURY DEPARTMENT.
The Financial Management Service, A Bureau of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, has a listing of several resources for Unclaimed Money and Assets.
Good Day to you,
My Name is Secretary Jack Lew, which I believe you know who I am, I am sending you this brief message to notify you about unclaimed funds that has recently been authorized by the
United States President, Barrack Obama due to America's Government Economic Resurgence, series of Conference Meetings were held on how to repay beneficiaries their unclaimed funds
by Inheritance, Contract, lottery, Assets and Properties until a final conclusion was made on Monday the 12th of January, whereby the President authorized and delegated me to handle this
transaction personally before the end of this month because It's what has fueled our economic comeback and will help ensure that all Americans not just a fortunate few, benefit from the progress
we've made since the Great Recession. Do understand that beneficiary must reach terms and agreement before the funds can be paid/returned.
>From the list of the files we have right here the lowest unclaimed funds by individual is from the range of $1.7 Million USD to $15 Million USD, so the FMS are willing and ready for your sincere cooperation
to remit your funds. To determine whether any unclaimed funds are being held by the Federal Government, you must determine the type of benefit or payment that could be involved, the date on which the
payment was expected, and how the payment should have been made. Giving this information, the agency responsible for certifying any payment due should be able to assist you in determining the current
status of any payment involved.
Several companies, or locator services, engaged in the business of identifying and recovering unclaimed assets for profit, acquire federal check issuance data from FMS and various Federal Government agencies
under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act. The information requested by these companies pertains to specific check symbols, numbers and dollar amounts identified on Treasury check cancellation
listings compiled by FMS. These listings are not searchable by personal identifiers, such as a person's name or social security number. Personal identifiers may, however, exist in federal agencies' check issuance
or cancellation records. Using such personal identifiers, if available, these locating services attempt to locate the prospective beneficiaries, or "payees," for canceled/unpaid Government checks and, on their behalf,
attempt to collect the payment amounts from the federal agencies that originally certified the payments. It is important to note that the letter indicates that you can receive this unclaimed Inheritance, Contract, lottery,
assets and properties if you pay a "finders" fee, Remember without this fees there is nothing I can do to assist you to get you what rightfully belongs to this New Year and you have been giving only this opportunity to
get this resolved ASAP.
 
Jack Lew
Department of the Treasury
1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20220
usjacklew55@gmail.com

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