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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: "Austin Koussa" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <koussaaustin@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 4 Aug 2015 09:33:38 -0800
Subject: Request for a foreign financial trustee/guardian

My name is Austin Koussa from Liberia and son of late Madam Amina Koussa. My father died 11 years ago and my mother was killed early this year by this recent EBOLA VIRUS out break in my country. She contacted the decease ignorantly when trying to help others that was affected.

Until her death, she was the major supplier of bitumen to major construction companies in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Ghana. After the death of my mother, I found in her underground bed room, documents about the sum of Eight Million United States Dollars (US$8,000,000.00) deposited with a security company in Accra, Ghana including information about her attorney in Ghana.

I met with the lawyer on my arrival in Ghana who is now trying to assist me to work out the modalities toward the claiming of the deposit from the security company. However, the security company declined to release the deposit because of the agreement they had with my late mother that the deposit should not be release until I am able to nominate a foreign trustee who will manage the contents to my benefit while I face my education.

This is why I wrote you this email to be my foreign trustee who will assist to manage this fund in terms that we have to agree upon. Please get back to me as quickly as possible for us to proceed with the process.

I wait to hear from you as quickly as possible.

Thanks,
Austin Koussa.

Anti-fraud resources: