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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: "Wang Chao." <wchao77@hotmail.com>
Date: Mon, 8 Feb 2016 10:18:27 +0100
Subject: Confidential Business Proposal

I am Mr. Wang Chao, Asset Management Department for the Shanghai Pudong
Development Bank China. I am getting in touch with you regarding the
estate of a deceased client with similar last name and an investment
placed under our banks management 5 years ago.

I would respectfully request that you keep the contents of this mail
confidential and respect the integrity of the information you come by as a
result of this mail. I contact you independently and no one is informed of
this communication. In 2008, the subject matter; Mr. Andrew came to our
bank to engage in business discussions with our private banking division.
He informed us that he had a financial portfolio of $12.350 million
(Twelve Million Three Hundred and Fifty Thousand United States dollars)
which he wished to have us invest on his behalf. Based on my advice, we
spun the money around various opportunities and made attractive margins
for our first months of operation, the accrued profit and interest stood
at this point at over $1.7 million United States Dollars. In mid 2010, he
instructed that the principal sum ($12.350M) be liquidated because he
needed to make an urgent investment requiring cash payments in Hong Kong.
We got in touch with a specialist bank in Hong Kong the Guangdong
Development Bank who agreed to receive this money for a fee and make cash
available to Mr. Andrew, However Guangdong Development Bank got in touch
with us early this year that this money has not been claimed. On further
enquiries we found out that Mr. Andrew was involved in a fatal accident in
Mainland China On further investigation we found out that he left behind
no Next of kin or any beneficiaries to his estate, and this is the reason
I am writing you because you are namesakes. I can use my position and the
access I have to certain information to make you the sole and legal
beneficiary to this estate.

What I propose is that using my position, I can make you the legal
beneficiary of these funds. Based on the details I shall provide my bank
they will instruct the Guangdong Development Bank Hong Kong to contact you
informing you of your beneficiary status to this estate and that the funds
have been WILLED to you and thus commence payment to you immediately. You
do not have to have known the deceased. I know that this is coming to you
as a huge surprise and might be too heavy to take in, but believe that it
is 100% real and risk free on both our parts. For your assistance I
propose that we share the money in half. In the banking circle this
happens every time, if not the money will revert back to the state,
according to the laws of my country.

This is definitely a life opportunity for me and you if you are in
acceptance of my proposal. I am in absolute position to see this venture
to success as I have worked out all modalities in which this transaction
will go. Please again note I am a family man with a wife and children. I
send you this letter not without a measure of fear as to the consequences,
but I know within me that nothing ventured is nothing gained. This is a
simple truth of life. But if you are not in acceptance please I will
kindly request that you destroy this letter and keep to yourself the
information you have come across. But if we can be of one accord we should
act swiftly on this. Please respond back to me immediately via the above
email, telephone number to enable me send you further details as it
relates to this transaction. I await your prompt response.


Wang Chao.
wangchao@mail-me.com

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