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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: "Gustav Werner" <marko@alwaysonnet.com>
Reply-To: jz.deskrecovery@gmail.com
Date: Sun, 26 Jul 2020 23:16:28 +0200
Subject: Telex Heritage Funds

Please be patient and read the explanation in my email. I am Mr. Gustav Werner, a German, now living in Austria, a formal executive director of the Habib Bank AG, Zurich. I am contacting you concerning a customer and an investment placed under me as at the time I was Executive Director; as a matter of fact it was years ago. Habib Bank AG, Zurich is commercial bank incorporated in Switzerland. I would respectfully request that you keep the contents of this mail private and also to kindly respect the integrity of the information you come by as a result of this email. I contacted you independently of our investigation and no one is informed of this communication; I would like to intimate you with certain facts that I believe would be of interest to you.

In June 2006, Engineer now LATE a foreign contractor who has an investment account with my bank with a huge sum of money in it was a chemical consultant contractor with Royal Dutch Shell until his death in a fatal car accident while in France on vacation with his entire family.Before his death he told me that he had a financial portfolio of 7.3 million United States dollars, which he wished to have us turn over (invest) on his behalf. I was the Executive Director assigned to his case because of his high net worth profile; I made numerous suggestions in line with my duties at the private banking sector, especially given the volume of funds he wished to put into our bank. We met on numerous occasions prior to any investments being placed. I encouraged him to consider various growth funds with prime ratings. The favored route in my advice to customers is to start by assessing data on 400 traditional stocks and bond managers and 250 managers of alternative investments. Based on my advice, we spun the money around various opportunities and made attractive margins for our first eight months of operation, the accrued profit and interest stood at this point at 11.5 million United States dollars, this margin was not the full potential of the fund but he desired low risk guaranteed returns on investments.

Upon maturity several notices was sent to him, (2009). But I later got information that he died of Auto crash in France.

In his bio-data form, he listed no next of kin. In the field of private banking, opening an account with us means no one will know of its existence. Accounts are rarely held under a name; depositors use numbers and codes to make the accounts anonymous. This bank even gives the choice to depositors of having their mail sent to them or held at the bank itself, ensuring that there are no traces of the account and as I said, rarely do they nominate next of kin. Private banking clients apart from not nominating next of kin also usually in most cases leave wills in our care, in this case; our now deceased client died in-testate. In line with our internal processes for account holders who have passed away, we instituted our own investigations in good faith to determine who should have right to claim the Funds.

This leaves me as the only person with the full picture of what the prevailing situation is in relation to the portfolio and the late beneficiary of the deposit. According to practice, the Private banking sector will by the end of this year broadcast a request for statement of claim to Habib Bank AG, Zurich, failing to receive viable claims they will most probably revert the deposit to Switzerland government.

What I wish to relate to you will smack off unethical practice but I want you to understand something. It is only an outsider to the banking world who finds the internal politics of the banking world aberrational. The world of private banking especially is fraught with huge rewards for those who sit upon certain chairs and oversee certain portfolios. You should have begun by now to put together the general direction of what I propose. There is US $22,590,810.00 deposit just lying unclaimed.

My proposal; I am prepared to furnish the necessary details to you as the closest surviving relation. SINCE YOU TWO SHARE THE SAME LAST NAME: I am also proposing that after successful execution of the business deal and the money in your account, the funds be disbursed in the ratio 50/50; 50% of the funds will go to you for offering yourself as the next of kin and providing a foreign account especially an offshore account for safe transfer of the funds and 50% will be for me. Please let me know in your next correspondence if the above sharing ratio is okay by you because we can fine-tune this based on our interactions in case you have any problem with it.

I am aware of the consequences of this proposal. Once more, I ask that if you find no interest in this project that you should discard this mail and forget I ever contacted you, I ask that you do not be vindictive and destructive because you do not approve of my proposal. I am not a criminal and what I do, I do not find against good conscience, this may be hard for you to understand, but the dynamics of my industry dictates that I make this move. Such opportunities only come one's way once in a lifetime. I cannot let this chance pass me by. For once I find myself in total control of my destiny. This chance won't pass me by and please do not let me miss my chance, if you will not work with me let me know and let me move on with my life. If you give me positive signals, I will give you the relevant modus operandi to initiate this process towards a conclusion.

Please, again i know within me that nothing ventured is nothing gained and that success and riches never come easy If we can be of one accord I shall have the pleasure of meeting you, after this task has been completed plan a meeting.

I await your response.

Yours Sincerely,
Mr. Gustav Werner

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