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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: "Mark Welling" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <mark.welling@aol.co.uk>, mark.welling@yahoo.cn
Date: Tue, 25 Sep 2012 09:50:09 +0300
Subject: Hello

Mark Welling
Welling & Associates
19 Seagrave Road
Fulham
London SW6 1RP
United Kingdom.

Dear Friend,

I am Mark Welling, an attorney here in the United Kingdom . I am
writing following an opportunity in my office that will be of immense
benefit to both of us.

I was the legal counsel to the late Mr. Rudolf Haeussler, a German
who unfortunately lost his life in the 24 November 2001 Crossair
aircraft crash of the 97-seat Jumbolino Avero RJ-100 aircraft enroute
from Berlin , Germany to Zurich , Switzerland , killing also his wife
and only daughter. The aircraft crashed in poor weather conditions
as it approached Zurich airport.

Before his death, I assisted him deposit a consignment containing
huge sum of money (yet to be disclosed) with a financial institution
in one of the major cities here in Europe .

Since I got information about his death, I have been expecting his
next of kin or relatives to come over and claim his money. Unfortunately
I learnt that his supposed next of kin being his only daughter died
along with him in the plane crash leaving nobody with the knowledge
of this fund behind for the claim. It is therefore upon this discovery
that I now decided to do business with you and release the money to
you as the next of kin or beneficiary of the funds for safe keeping
and subsequent disbursement since nobody is coming for it. I would
need you as a Foreigner acting as the next of kin and sole benefactor
to the inheritance of late Mr. Rudolf Haeussler to claim the funds for
us to share.

There is no risk involved at all in the matter as I am going to adopt a
legalized method and prepare all the necessary documents. Please
endeavor to observe utmost discretion in all matters concerning this
issue. Once the funds have been transferred, we shall share in the
ratio of 60% for me, 35% for you and 5% for any expenses incurred
during the course of this operation. Should you be interested, please
send me your telephone and fax numbers for easy communication.

In the event you are not interested, I sincerely ask that you disregard
this email and tell no one about it. I am very careful not to truncate my
legal career should you mention this to someone else. I hope you can
be trusted in this regard.

Please note that all necessary arrangement for the smooth release of
these funds to you have been finalized. We will discuss more in details
when I do receive your response.

Your earliest response to this letter will be appreciated.

Best regards,
Mark Welling esq.

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