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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: "Mrs.Mary Louis" <marylouis2101@outlook.com>
Reply-To: marylouis999888@gmail.com
Date: Fri, 11 Nov 2016 21:23:48 +0100
Subject: My Dear Friend.




--
My Dear Friend,

Greetings to you.

Please do not view my plea as a contrived plot.My trusted family attorney
who would have executed my WILL & TESTAMENT on my behalf died early this
year after a brief illness.I therefore prayed fervently and by the special
grace of GOD,i was led to you.I am Mrs.Mary Louis,from United Kingdom,I am
62 years old. I am suffering from cancer of the lungs and it has affected
part of my brain cells due to complications.My condition is deteriorating
and according to my doctors i may not be alive in the next couple of
months,unless there is a divine intervention.

I was orphaned as a child and got married to late Engineer.Steve Louis for
twenty years without having an offspring.My late husband had chronic
cardiovascular condition and died of cardiac arrest few years ago.Steve
and I lived in Nigeria for over 18 years,where my husband a petrochemical
engineer by profession worked and rose through the ranks and became an
executive director in a multinational oil servicing and exploration
conglomerate, before his untimely death.He also established huge private
investments that i supervised before his death and which forms the major
source of our fortune.

Consequent upon the shocking demise of my priceless husband, i opted as a
rule, not to re-marry. When medical reports revealed that my cancer
ailment have become terminal & more so because i do not have a direct next
of kin to bequeath all that STEVE & I labored for,i sold off all our
choice assets,landed properties and other valuable family treasures and
deposited the proceeds amounting to USD$10,000,000.00 (TEN MILLION DOLLARS
ONLY) with First Inland Bank of Nigeria plc. The management of the bank
has written me as the sole beneficiary of the fund because of the
unserviceable status of the fund over the years and suggested to me in a 2
paragraph statement to issue a letter of authorization to someone who can
manage the fund on my behalf because of my terminal illness and also
threatened that the fund could be confiscated upon my failure to adhere to
their rules and regulations as clearly spelt out in their code of conduct.

I am on admission at the intensive care unit of a London hospital,located
at Fulham road in west London United Kingdom. It is the leading cancer
treatment hospital in the world.I am currently undergoing treatment there
for late-stage terminal cancer of the lungs. I am computer literate, I
rarely talk but has my personal laptop with me and has the permission of
my physicians to use it,hence I am writing from my sick bed in the
(ICU).It is my last WISH that 85% of this fund is invested substantially
in any charitable organization of your choice and administered as you may
deem fit,especially to the orphanage homes.You are at liberty to also
donate part of the funds to churches and mosques and to those struck by
natural disaster.I have earmarked 5% of the total fund to run cost of
administration of WILL & TESTAMENT and also on logistics and other sundry
arrangements that you may require.

I crave your indulgence as a God fearing individual that equally has high
moral pedestal and who is also an uncommon humanitarian that cares so much
about the plight of the less-privileged as much as i do, to take it upon
yourself and use this fund for the above mentioned purposes. This is a
painstaking decision i have taken in other to help humanity in my little
capacity as a people driven entrepreneur and a very God fearing woman
before i bow to God's sovereignty.

Note that as soon as I receive your reply and personal information as
listed below, I shall avail you with the official contact information of
the First Inland Bank plc officials,to enable you contact the Bank without
delays.I will also issue you with an official letter of authorization,so
that my bankers will recognize your status as the new beneficiary of my
ESTATE, FUND, WILL & TESTAMENT. Interestingly 10% of the total sum is set
aside as your compensation for accepting to play this significant role for
me and i hope you will appreciate my kind gesture.

Let me remind you that the fund has an open beneficiary mandate and as
such,it is whom i personally authorize or appoint to act on my behalf that
the bank will ultimately recognize and release the funds to and by this
memo,the onus has fallen on you to assume this selfless and noble
responsibility that will catalyze change by exploring and promoting the
development of new interventions that will benefit the poorest of the poor
when the fund is transferred into your bank account.

Please assure me that you will not treat this offer with levity but will
consciously yield my bequest continued existence.

Kindly send the information in this order:

(1) Your full names :=============================
======

(2) personal or official contact address:====================== =========

(3) Home or Office phone#:============Cellphone#: ==========Fax#:=======

(4) Your Age:===============

(5)Occupation:================ ===========

(6)Sex/Marital status:======================= =

I Await your kind response while hoping you will appreciate my helpless
predicament.

Reply me through my private email address: mygodisgood.mary@qq.com

May God bless your golden heart and soul.

Sincerely Yours,

Mrs.Mary Louis
(United Kingdom)

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