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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: Bernard Williams <bravowills03@live.com>
Date: Thu, 24 Feb 2011 11:49:04 +0200
Subject: Personal (Not Junk)



From: Bernard Williams
Santander Bank, UK
=20
Dear Friend,
=20
I am Mr. Bernard Williams, the Auditor General, Santander Bank, UK . In the
course of my auditing, I discovered a floating fund in an account, which wa=
s
opened in 1990 at Abbey National Bank before it was bought over by Santande=
r
Group which I am the auditor belonging to a dead foreigner who died in 1999=
.
Every effort made to track any member of his family or next of kin has sinc=
e
failed; hence I got in contact with you to stand as his next of kin since y=
ou
bear the same last name. He died leaving no heir or a will.
=20
My intention is to transfer this sum of $5.5M in the aforementioned account=
to a
safe account overseas. I am therefore proposing that you quietly partner wi=
th me
and provide an account or set up a new one that will serve the purpose of
receiving this fund. For your assistance in this venture, I am ready to par=
t
with a good percentage of the entire funds. After going through the decease=
d
person's records and files, I discovered that:
=20
(1) No one has operated this account since 1999
(2) He died without an heir; hence the money has been floating.
(3) No other person knows about this account and there was no known benefic=
iary.
=20
If I do not remit this money urgently, it would be forfeited and subsequent=
ly
converted to company's funds, which will benefit only the directors of my f=
irm.
This money can be approved to you legally as with all the necessary documen=
tary
approvals in your name. However, you would be required to show some proof o=
f
claim, which I will provide you with and also guide you on how to make your
applications.
=20
Please do give me a reply so that I can send you detailed information on th=
e
modalities of my proposition. I completely trust you to keep this propositi=
on
absolutely confidential. Kindly forward your telephone number where I can r=
each
you easily. I look forward to your prompt response.
=20
Best Regards,
=20
Mr. Bernard Williams.
bravowills03@live.com=0A=0A_____________________=0Ahttp://www.e-card.bg/=0A

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