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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: "Mrs Daire O'Leary" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <mrsdaireoleary@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 2 Mar 2016 03:41:37 -0800
Subject: ATTN:Good Partner..

ATTN:Good Partner,

I am contacting with regards to this particular fund belonging to my
deceased client, I decided to contact you about this unclaimed
deposits. If you are not interested, please ignore this mail and go
about your normal business. I am Barrister Mrs. Daire O'Leary, principal
partner of Charlene Dixon & Partners, Law Office and Notaries Public and
practicing Law in United Kingdom. I specialize in family law, will,
probate and tax saving strategies. On May 12 2010, one of my senior
clients’ Mr. Thomas Bahia a Dutch Citizen died in a plane crash that
happened in Libya. Here is a link for your
view:http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/13/world/middleeast/13libya.html?_r=1
My client stated his wife as his next of kin, but unfortunately she
died also in the crash, along with their three children. I am the
executor of my client’s will and have shared his assets and properties
to his extended family members and they have gone since December 2010.

But my client deposited the sum of $3.9 million United States Dollars
in a fixed deposit account in a bank in United Kingdom not known to
anybody. On January 15th 2016 the bank wrote me as his lawyer/executor
to bring along the next of kin/beneficiary of my client to inherit
his funds (US$3.9m). I have therefore decided to contact you to
present you as the next of kin/beneficiary to my client, to enable you
receive the fund on our behalf as my client’s spouse and dependent
all died in the plane crash with him. All the documents required to
claim this funds are in my possession like the affidavit of claim,
death certificate, certificate of deposit, transfer of ownership,
certificate of inheritance etc.

I will forward to you all these documents required to claim this
funds. All I need from you is to indicate your interest to be the next
of kin/beneficiary to my dead client and I will present it to the
bank. This is 100% legitimate. When you receive the money in your
account I will come over to your country for the sharing as follows>
45% for you and 45% for me. The remaining 10% will be set aside for
expenses that will be incurred by both parties during the course of
this transfer to your account. As the fiduciary/trusted representative
of the deceased, and as the manager of his assets, properties and
financial affairs when Mr. Thomas Bahia was alive, I have absolute
duty to properly administer the estate for its beneficiary.

Thanks,
Mrs Daire O'Leary

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