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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: "Desmond McLaughlin Esq" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <mobile.usa.network@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 6 Mar 2016 01:28:23 +0330
Subject: Dear 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 Desmond McLaughlin Esq, 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 $12.5 million United States Dollars in a fixed deposit account in a bank 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$12.5m). 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 55% for you and 45% for me. 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,
Desmond McLaughlin Esq
Principal Partner
Email: desmond.mclaughlin@afrilandftbk.com

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