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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.

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

Fraud email example:

From: gerrit marinus <gerrit@gerrit.orangehome.co.uk>
Date: Sat, 21 Oct 2006 15:57:01 +0200 (CEST)
Subject: FROM GUERRIT M. ROOTHY


FROM GUERRIT M. ROOTHY

Good day,

I am Mr. GUERRIT M. ROOTHY, a staff, of International Private Banking. I am contacting you concerning a deceased customer and an investment he placed under our banks management five years ago. I would respectfully request that you keep the contents of this mail confidential and respect the integrity of the information you come by as a result of this mail. I am contacting you independently of our investigation and no one is informed of this communication. I am wholeheartedly, convinced that this exclusive information I am about to intimate you with will bring immense benefit to you and me if you would be willing to work it out with me.

I happen to have managed a particular account for Mr. ANDREAS SCHRANNER, a resident foreigner, here in the Netherlands, who died Intestate, in July 2001.Tragedy struck when a Concorde airline AF4590 plane crashed killing all 108 passengers on board including Mr. ANDREAS SCHRANNER, leaving in our care a sizable amount in a domiciliary United States Dollars Investment Account. For some reasons this client does not have an easily identifiable next of Kin, and I have made several enquiries to locate any of his relatives and extended family members unsuccessfully.
(For more Information please see BBC News on http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/859479.stm.)

Since this sad incident 5 years ago, our bank has been waiting for any heir or relation of the deceased to file claim for the money. Unfortunately, up till date no claim has been made by anyone from the deceased's family. And failing to receive viable claim by the end of our organization's financial year ending 30th May 2007, the bank will most probably claim the deposit and the portfolio will be out of my hands and out of the Private Banking division.

Though this business may seem smacked of unethical practice, I want you to understand that it is only an outsider to the banking industry that will see the internal politics of the banking world as aberrational. The entire world of private banking especially, is fraught with huge rewards for those occupying certain offices and overseeing certain portfolios. I am sure you have by now begun to put together the general direction of what I propose. I alone have the relevant details to make you a Business Partner to the deceased. This bank has spent great amounts of money trying to track this man's family; they have investigated for months and have found no family left for claimant. The investigation has almost come to an end.

Hence, I am contacting you on the consideration to work with you in securing the money and property left behind by my client before they get confiscated or declared unserviceable by the Finance House here in the Netherlands. The Finance House has already issued a Government Mandatory formality notice to provide the Next of Kin or have the account confiscated and this should expire within a month.

Since I have been unsuccessful in locating any of his relatives for over two years and convinced that no one is coming up and having satisfied the mandatory legal requirement of Beneficiary/next of kin Notification, I now seek a Reliable and Trustworthy person, with your consent and perfect understanding, to present you as the next of kin of the deceased so that the proceeds of this account initially valued at $ 9.5 million USD ( Nine Million, Five Hundred Thousand United States Dollars), interest not inclusive, can be paid into an account to be provided by you(preferably outside the Netherlands Financial Institutions), as the perceived Next Of Kin Legally and Otherwise.

All I require is your honest cooperation and confidence in me; which I know would not come easy. I guarantee that this will be executed under a legitimate background that will protect you from any breach of the Law. I would advise that you give this proposal a positive Consideration and get back to me soon. I'll be flexible and considerate in the percentage share that will be given to you for your assistance.

Upon receipt of your response which I await eagerly, I would bring you into a clearer picture of this transaction. Use my email below for your reply

Regards,
Mr. GUERRIT M. ROOTHY
EMAIL: guerritmrooth@aim.com

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