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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: "Ms Jo Whelan" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <ukdebt.serviceoffice@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 22 Jan 2017 17:54:26 +0100
Subject: Acknowledge this

Attention Sir/Madam.
 
As you must be aware, I am the Controller General for the Reduction of the National Debt in the United Kingdom. I am writing you with regards to your stalled funds transfer you have been expecting from the U.K. For your interest, I would urge you to accord this correspondence your full indulgence and attention, as you may likely have been receiving other
emails of similar contents from the numerous fraud syndicate and impostors. The authenticity and difference would be evident in a moment.
I was specially instructed by the Office of the Prime Minister to embark on a personal review of all long pending and stalled International Transfer Files of all Banks Operating in the United Kingdom, including those at our Offshore Foreign Correspondent Banks, with a view of redeeming genuine cases of Transfers, and consigning others as bad debt inthe Federal Budget. The office of the Prime Minister has mandated me to ensure that all genuine claim and transfers are paid.
The Government of the U.K took this major step in addressing these problems of all stalled transfers as a result of the global financial crisis that has affected banks by establishing an autonomous National Debt Management Office (NDMO) to take over payment responsibility on behalf of all banks operating in the UK.
The creation of the NDMO consolidates debt management functions as a result of the global financial melt-down for ensuring proper coordination of all payments emanating for the U.K. The NDMO centralizes and coordinates the country's debt recording and management activities, including debt service forecasts; transfers payments; and advising on debt negotiations as well as new borrowings.
It also provides for the establishment of a supervisory board that has oversight functions on all banks operating in the UK as well as endorsement of strategic thrusts and policies for the organization,consistent with the broad policy objectives of government. Your transfer file came to my attention just this morning, and I was compelled to take special interest in your transfer because of its peculiar history of procedural inconsistencies and unauthorized payment approval documents that are contained in your file. Obviously all the persons you assigned to process your transfer have proved to be fraudulent and incompetent.
Simply put it that some management of the Bank have tried unsuccessfully to smuggle your transfer through a non-existent back door, while impersonating the offices of various government departments before you, and feeding you with forged transferred document.
Consequently, I have this morning ordered the heads of all the relevant Government Departments genuinely involved in the foreign transfer protocol, including the Treasury Department, and the Bank to suspend all further action on your transfer pending conclusion of my personal investigation into the actual reasons why your transfer has failed to date. Official memos have been issued to the relevant departments.
However, preliminary evidence shows clearly that these fraudulent persons you have assigned to help you process your transfer have been extorting monies from you through concocted excuses and lies, only for them to divert the monies collected from you to their private pockets and return back to demand more monies from you endlessly. Please you should not allow yourself to be deceived and extorted anymore. As the Controller General for the Reduction of the National Debt in the United Kingdom, I want to assure you that your transfer will now be processed through the simple, transparent and authoritative means.
Please discontinue any form of contact with all those you have been dealing with before now, no matter the nature of your relationship with any of these crooks, including your local attorney. My intention is to quickly reactivate and sort out your transfer without any distraction. So you are forbidden to preempt anyone of this contact, otherwise I will be
compelled to out rightly cancel your transfer along others a bad debt.
 
Reply immediately to acknowledge this advice, and I will instruct you further.
Regards,
Ms Jo Whelan
Commissioner for the Reduction of the National Debt
UK Debt Management Office.

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