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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: "Mr. C. Uche" <uchegerald3@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 2020 09:07:45 +0100
Subject: RE: YOUR FILE ON MY DESK

--
FROM THE DESK OF MR. C. UCHE
OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENCY
FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA
FOREIGN DEBT RECONCILIATION PANEL
(CONTRACT PAYMENT, COSTING, INVESTIGATION AND APPROVAL)

* RE: YOUR FILE ON MY DESK*
I HAVE GONE THROUGH YOUR CONTRACT PAYMENT FILE AS DIRECTED BY THE
PRESIDENCY, AND SEEN THAT IT WILL TAKE US A LONG PROCESS FOR YOUR MONEY TO
BE RELEASED DUE TO SOME IRREGULARITIES DETECTED IN YOUR FILE. DURING OUR
INVESTIGATION, WE FOUND OUT THAT YOU HAVE SPENT SO MUCH IN TRYING TO
REALIZE YOUR CONTRACT PAYMENT, WHICH DID NOT EVEN REFLECT IN YOUR FILE, BUT
I HAVE AN OFFER, WHICH WILL AT LEAST HELP YOUR FINANCIAL STAND UNTIL YOU
RECEIVE YOUR CONTRACT PAYMENT.

THIS OFFER IS AN AMOUNT FROM FEDERAL GOVERNMENT LEFT OVER. IT IS A TOTAL
SUM OF US$17,600,000.00 (SEVENTEEN MILLION, SIX HUNDRED THOUSAND UNITED
STATES DOLLARS), WHICH WILL BE SHARED BETWEEN YOU AND I IN THE RATIO OF 50%
- 50%. THIS AMOUNT IS NOT FROM YOUR CONTRACT SUM OR HAVE ANY THING RELATED
TO YOUR CONTRACT SUM, RATHER IT IS A LEFT OVER FROM THE AMOUNT USED IN
PAYING LOCAL CONTRACTORS AND IT IS DIRECTLY UNDER MY CUSTODY.
I AM OFFERING YOU THIS BECAUSE I HAVE SEEN THAT YOUR CONTRACT FUND WILL NOT
BE RELEASED ON TIME UNTIL ALL THE ANOMALIES ARE RECTIFIED AND ALSO BECAUSE
YOU ARE A GOVERNMENT CONTRACTOR.

THE ONLY THINGS NEEDED FOR THIS US$17.6 MILLION TO BE TRANSFERRED TO YOUR
ACCOUNT UNDER 24 HOURS ARE AS FOLLOW: - A BANK ACCOUNT, YOUR TELEPHONE
NUMBERS AND MAILING ADDRESS.FOR YOUR INFORMATION, THIS IS NOT A CONTRACT
PAYMENT, THEREFORE THERE WILL BE NO BUREAUCRACY OR MISFORTUNE.

PLEASE NOTE THAT IF YOU ARE WILLING TO MAKE THIS DEAL WITH ME, YOU SHOULD
CONTACT ME IMMEDIATELY ON MY EMAIL FURNISHING ME WITH YOUR NEW ACCOUNT.
ALSO BE INFORMED THAT THIS TRANSACTION WILL TAKE US JUST 48 HOURS TO
ACCOMPLISH.

YOURS TRULY,
MR. C. UCHE

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