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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: Allan Lim <arose0560@gmail.com>
Reply-To: dl1965247@gmail.com
Date: Thu, 16 Mar 2023 12:20:48 +0100
Subject: Re: SEARCHING FOR THE RIGHT PERSON.

My dear, how are you doing? I apologize if the business I want to
share with you is against your ethics or principles, but I believe you
are the rightful person to carry out this transaction with me because
you bear the same name as the deceased. Let me introduce myself first.
I am Mr. Allan Lim, the executive operations manager and chief
financial officer of one of the leading banks in the Philippines. I
have important business to disclose with you, and you will never
regret it. It is for our mutual benefit. What I need is your consent
to help realize it and share the great benefits together.

I would like to discuss a $15.5 million business project with you. On
December 29, 2012, a U.S. businessman made a numbered time-fixed
deposit for twelve calendar months, valued at $15.5 million, in my
branch. Upon maturity, a routine notification was sent to his
forwarding address, but no reply was received. After a month, I sent
another reminder and finally discovered that he died along with his
entire family during Typhoon Haiyan in Tacloban City, Philippines, in
November 2013. After further investigation, it was also discovered
that the deceased did not declare any next of kin in his official
papers, including the paperwork of his bank deposit, and he also had
confidence in me; the last time he was in my office, no one except me
knew of his deposit in my bank. So, $15.5 million in United States
dollars is still sitting in my bank, and the interest is being rolled
over with the principal sum at the end of each year.

It is now apparent that no one will ever come forward to claim these
funds, and according to Philippine law, at the expiration of 10 years,
the money will revert to the ownership of the Philippine government if
no one applies to claim the fund. Consequently, I would like you, as a
foreigner, to stand in as the beneficiary to my bank since you bear
the same last name with the deceased, so that the fruits of this man's
labor will not get into the hands of some corrupt government
officials. I can assure you that with your total cooperation and
commitment, we are sure to finalize this transaction in the shortest
possible time. My years in the banking sector, coupled with business
ideas, taught me that partnership requires transparency. All I require
is your honest cooperation to enable us to see this deal through. I
guarantee that this will be executed under a legitimate arrangement
that will protect you and me from the law and monetary bodies.

For your role in this transaction, you will be entitled to 50% of the
total amount as your share and 50% as mine. I intend to use my own
share for possible investment into any profitable business venture in
your country. I sincerely appeal to you to keep this matter highly
confidential and not disclose it to anyone. This is very important to
safeguard the transaction and us. My experience as a banker has taught
me to be very secretive when necessary, and I think a situation like
this requires absolute confidentiality.

Your timely response will be appreciated, and if you have any
questions, feel free to ask for more clarification.

Best regards,
Allan Lim

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