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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

• About the 419 (Advance Fee) scam
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• Frequently asked Questions (419 FAQ)
• Phone numbers used by 419 scammers
  (+225 +229 +234 +27 +31 +32 +34 +44 other)
• Company names mentioned in 419 spam:
  1 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
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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.

Read more about such scams here or in our 419 FAQ. Use the Scam-O-Matic to verify suspect emails.

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Some comments by the Scam-O-Matic about the following email:

• An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "dear sir/madam" (a standard Nigerian greeting phrase)
  • "will come to you as a surprise" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "hundred thousand united states dollars" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
• This email message is a next of kin scam.
• This email lists free webmail addresses. Use of such addresses is typical for scams. Lotteries, banks and any but the smallest of companies do not normally use such addresses. Criminals use them to anonymously send and receive email at Internet cafes.
  • emmatiyenga@netscape.net (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: Emmanuel Matiyenga <emmatiyenga@walla.com>
Date: Fri, 04 Aug 2006 06:16:28 +0200
Subject: Contact Me Please !!


Dear Sir/Madam,
I know this will come to you as a surprise. I write this crucial mail to solicit your assistance in a transaction that will be very beneficial to you and me, with hope that you will never let me down either now or in future. Please read carefully and respond urgently.
I am Mr Emmanuel Matiyenga a Zimbabwean citizen, the eldest son of late Honourable Adams Matiyenga. My father served in President Mugabe's government faithfully in various capacities as a Minister and Chairman of Agricultural trust fund. He was however arrested on 4th April 2002 because he was against Mugabe's government concerning the land dispute that erupted in Zimbabwe some years back.
My father while in detention was humiliated and tortured by Mugabe's security operatives, in- spite of his falling health and as a result he died in detention on the 28th of April 2002.
Please go through the website below, to read about my country. As it may help you to understand what am talking about: http://www.guardian.co.uk/zimbabwe/article/0,2763,1392593,00.html
Before my father's death, he confided in me and my brother by telling us the existence of Twenty-Two Million, Five Hundred Thousand United States Dollars (US$22.5 M) he deposited with a Finance House in Europe, during one of his trips while he was still in service. My brother and I are the only people in my family who are privy to this information. I have the depository agreement and the certificate of the deposit and other relevant documents issued to my father by the Finance House.
Since his death, my family has been subjected to untold hardship and harassment. All my father's assets have been confiscated. His accounts frozen and we were also attacked and driven out of our family house in Harare. I and my brother narrowly escaped to Europe where we are currently on political asylum.
We were waiting to have a legal status before we could invest the money on any lucrative business. But last week we received a mail from the authority informing us that my brother and I are not eligible to obtain political asylum, because according to the letter, it was my father that had problem and not all the members of his family and to that effect we should be ready to go back to Zimbabwe soon. At this point, I and my brother became frustrated and simply tired of the whole situation.
Though my lawyer filled an appeal against this decision, but he also advised that I as the eldest, should look for a capable person that can stand as my father's foreign affiliate to act as the beneficiary of the deposited funds with the finance house, since we cannot claim the funds because of our status as asylum seekers.
For this reason, I want you to assist me so that we can invest these funds in any lucrative business of your choice. I will compensate you generously to as much as 20% of the total amount 10% will be used to settle all incurred expenses while the remaining 70% will be invested by you on behalf of my brother and me.
You may contact me on email: emmatiyenga@netscape.net, for more clarifications.
Note that this transaction demands expediency, secrecy and absolute trust. Our destiny is in your hands, do not abandon us. Please assist us to escape these spectres of political persecution going on.
More also treat this mail with utmost confidentiality because of my safety and the money.
I eagerly await your reply. Please include fax and phone number for easy communication.
Thanks and God bless,
Yours faithfully,
Mr Emmanuel Matiyenga.
Please, Reply to Email: emmatiyenga@netscape.net

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam