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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: <>
Reply-To: <p_dickson6@aol.com>
Date: Fri, 4 Dec 2015 19:13:28 +0300
Subject: End of The Year Business Opportunity

Greetings To You,


This is a personal email directed to you and I request that it be
treated as such. I am Paul Dickson, a personal attorney/sole executor
to the late Engineer Robert M , herein after referred to as” my client"
I represent the interest of my client killed with his immediate family
in a fatal motor accident in east Johannesburg on November 5, 2002.and
I will like to negotiate the terms of investment of resources available
to him.

My late client worked as consulting engineer & sub-comptroller with
Gold Consultants Ltd here in the south Africa and had left behind a deposit of
Six Million Eight Hundred Thousand United State Dollar only ($6.8million) with a finance company.
The funds originated from contract transactions he executed in his registered
area of business. Just after his death, I was contacted by the finance
house to provide his next of kin, reasons been that his deposit
agreement contains a residuary clause giving his personal attorney
express authority to nominate the beneficiary to his funds. Unknown to
the bank, Robert had left no possible trace of any of his close
relative with me, making all efforts in my part to locate his family
relative to be unfruitful since his death. In addition, from Robert’s
own story, he was only adopted and his foster parents whom he lost in
1976, according to him had no possible trace of his real family.
The funds had remained unclaimed since his death, but I had made effort
writing several letters to the embassy with intent to locate any of his
extended relatives whom shall be claimants/beneficiaries of his
abandoned personal estate, and all such efforts have been to no avail.
More so, I have received official letters in the last few weeks
suggesting a likely proceeding for confiscation of his abandoned
personal assets in line with existing laws by the bank However, it will
interest you to know that I discovered that some directors of this
finance company are making plans already to have this fund to
themselves only to use the excuse that since I am unable to find a next
of kin to my late client then the funds should be confiscated,
meanwhile their intentions is to have the funds retrieved for
themselves.

I reasoned very professionally and resolved to use a legal means to
retrieve the abandoned funds, and that is to present the next of kin of
my deceased client to the bank. This is legally possible and would be
done in accordance with the laws. On this note, I decided to search for
a credible person and finding that you bear a similar last name, I was
urged to contact you, that I may, with your consent, present you to the
"trustee" bank as my late client's surviving family member so as to
enable you put up a claim to the bank in that capacity as a next of kin
of my client. I find this to be possible for the fuller reasons that
you are of the same nationality and you bear a similar last name with
my late client making it a lot easier for you to put up a claim in that
capacity. I have all vital documents that would confer you the legal
right to lay claim to the funds, and it would back up your claim. I am
willing to make these documents available to you so that the proceeds
of this bank account valued at $6.8million can be paid to you before it
is confiscated or declared unserviceable to the bank where this huge
amount is lodged.

I do sincerely sympathize the death of my client but I think that it is
unprofitable for his funds to be submitted to the government of this
country or some financial institution. I seek your assistance since I
have been unable to locate the relatives for the past three years now
and since no one would come for the claim. I seek your consent to
present you as the next of kin of the deceased since you have the same
last name giving you the advantage which also makes the claim most
credible . In that stand, the proceeds of this account can be paid to
you. Then, we talk about percentage. I know there are others with the
same surname as my client, but after a little search, my instinct tells
me to contact you. I shall assemble all the necessary documents that
would be used to back up your claim.

I guarantee that this will be executed under a legitimate arrangement
that will protect you from any breach of law. I will not fail to bring
to your notice that this proposal is hitch-free and that you should not
entertain any fears as the required arrangements have been made for the
completion of this transfer. As I said, I require only a solemn
confidentiality on this. Please get in touch via my email
for better confidentiality and if it’s okay to you send me your telephone and
fax numbers to enable us discuss further
on this transaction, please do not take undue advantage of the trust I
have bestowed in you, Thanks for your understanding.

Kind Regards.
Paul Dickson

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