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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

• About the 419 (Advance Fee) scam
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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 friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "i will like you to " (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)
  • "foreign remittance department" (Banks mentioned in 419 scams are always fake (real banks don't communicate using mobile phones or free webmail addresses))
• 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.
  • michael_boly@hotmail.fr (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: michael boly <michael_boly1@hotmail.fr>
Date: Tue, 31 Jul 2007 11:12:04 +0000
Subject: I NEED YOUR ASSISTANCE PLEASE !



Dear Friend ,
Greetings to you ! this letter is strictly personal, intimate and confidential.Forgive this unusual manner of contacting you,but this particular letter is of exceptional and very private nature. There is no way for me to know whether I will be properly understood, but it is my duty to write and reach out to you. For i know that you are the only one that can be trusted to handle this project effectively without making us regret. I am Mr MICHAEL BOLY , Manager Bills/Exchange at the Foreign Remittance Department of ( ADB ) AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK OUAGADOUGOU BURKINA FASO IN WEST AFRICA. In my department i discovered an abandoned sum of US$ 12.5M (TWELVE MILLION FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND UNITED STATES DOLLARS) in an account that belong to one of our foreign customers who died on 11th September 2001 in world trade center (WTC). Since we got information about his death, we have been expecting his next of kin to come over and claim his money because we cannot release it unless somebody applied for it as the next of kin, or relation to the deceased as indicated in our Banking guidelines.
Unfortunately, nobody has come forward to claim this money uptill this date i am contacting you . It is based on this that i , as the Executive Bill and Exchange Manager of this bank decided to establish a cordial business relationship with you, hence by contacting you.Listen attentively on what i need from you . I want you to present yourself as the NEXT OF KIN or relation of the deceased customer, so that the fund can be remitted into your account since nobody is coming
for it. And again i do not want the money to go into the government account as unclaimed bills.
The Banking laws and guidelines here stipulate that any account abandoned or dormant for a period of years is deemed closed, all money contained therein would be forfeited to the bank and government treasury account and as i see this account, nobody comes for it and will not come because i have made several enquires concerning the deseased. Now it is being speculated that
the above sum will be transferred into the government account as an unclaimed fund if nobody comes forward .Is upon this reason i am requesting you to present yourself as the next of kin is occasioned by the fact that the deceased (customer)was a foreigner.Also more importantly is that i have been given the right to screen the applicants and that is why i have decided to hit this with you .
I will forward to you the detail information on how i have planned the success of this if you agree to assist me.Your telephone and fax number will be needed incase of urgency .
I have agreed to give you 45% of the total money for your assistance while i take 55% as your partner that link you up in this business .If you are in support of the aforementioned, therefore you are urged to reply this letter indicating your readiness and interest to participate in the business for all is set for us to hit this business and share . After receiving your reply, you will be communicated with the exact steps to take. And I will like you to give me a concrete assurance that the entire fund will be safe when transferred into your account. To enable us conclude this transaction urgently . Please treat this business proposal STICTLY CONFIDENTIAL for security reasons .

Waiting for your mail ! my private email:michael_boly@hotmail.fr
Best regards.
Mr MICHAEL BOLY,
_________________________________________________________________
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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam