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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: smith laws <lg10e@hotmail.com>
Reply-To: <smithlawfirm@hotmail.co.uk>
Date: Fri, 12 Oct 2007 08:31:10 +0100
Subject: Your Kind Attention Duly Expected



Gordon Smith Mark & Associates 12 lewisham High St, Lewisham SE13 5LQ , London,
London, UK +44 704 572 9847
E-mail; smithlawfirm@hotmail.co.uk

Area of Practice:(Accident and Injuries, Adoption, Alternate Dispute Resolution, Antitrust and Trade Regulation, Bail and Bond, Banking and Finance, Bankruptcy, Business and Commercial, Car Accident, Civil Right, Copyright, Criminal Law, Discrimination, Divorce, Elder, Entertainment Sports and Leisure Law, Environment, Estate Planning, Family Planning, Franchising, Government Contract, Health and Health Care Law, Immigration Law, Insurance, Intellectual Property Law, International Law, Internet - Cyberspace Law, Labor Law, Land Uses and Zoning, Legal Malpractice, Litigation and Appeals, Mediation and Collaboration Law, Medical Malpractice, Military Law, Motor Vehicles Accidents - Plaintiff, Patents, Personal Injury - Defense, Personal Injury - Plaintiff, Probate and Estate, Real Estate, Securities Law, Sexual Harassment, Social Security - Disability, State Local and Municipal Law, Taxation, Trademarks, Transportaion Violation, Trust, Wrongful Death.)

Dear Sir,
We write and solicit unbehalf of the properties of my client Mr Robert Fitzpatrick, 68 who died in an air crash along with his wife Mrs. Sharon Fitzpatrick aged 67 on the 31st October 1999 in an Egyptian airline boeing 990 with other passengers on board.
You can confirm this fact from the website which wasaired by the BBCWORLDNEWS:http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/502503.stm,before his death,he domiciled account with the a bank here in london, which is presently having from my secret investigations, an opening balance of USD$8.525m.(Eight million five hundred &Twenty Five thousand u.s dollars) as he was a businessman who contracted many vessels and was suppliying food to bakassi penusula regions throughout the 14 years the bakassi war lasted.

Since his death, none of his relatives or associates have come forward to lay claims to his funds as next-of-kin,as his wife whom he made his next of kin died in the same crash and on my own I have made concented efforts to locate any of his relatives but all proved abortive.

Based on the ethics and policies of the bank,it would be declared unclaimed and taken to the treasury of the bank as capital base of the bank, because already the account has been tagged dormant having exceeded the normal functional period of years.(7 years past) The bank cannot release the funds from his account unless someone applies for it or lays claim as the next-of-kin to the deceased as indicated in the banking guidelines.

Upon this discovery, I now seek your permission and assistance to present you and have you stand as a next of kin to the deceased,so that the funds can be released and transfered to you, as all documentations will be carefully worked out by me for it to be released in your favor as the Account Holders next of kin, if not the members of the board of directors will utilise it as their personal profit as unclaimed money and shared amongst the directors of the bank as part of profit earnings.

So it is on this note I decided to seek for whom his name shall be used as the next of kin/beneficiary rather than allow the bank directors to share it amongst themselves at the end of the year. Note the folowing points;

The transaction is 100% risk free as my client bank account Management officer is in agreement with me to look for somebody and pull out the money.

The money however, will be divided into 4 parts, you will take 30% of the $8.525m, myself 50%, the account officer of my late client who will help to get the approvals in your favor will take 10%, while 10% is set aside to offset any expenses we may individually encure during the transfer process.

That I will use part of my share to help the less privileged home, e.g. motherless homes, handicapped homes as this are my reasons why I did not allow the Bank Directors who are already rich, to mess up my clients money while there are poor people in the society who needs help, I have decided within me,to open a Charitable Organization in Memory of my late client.

It may interest you to know that I have secured from the probate commission an order of mandamus to locate any of the deceased beneficiaries.

Please furnish me with the following information if you are ready/committed to work with me.
1. A beneficiary name/address, in order for me to prepare the document for transfer in your name.

2. Direct Telephone and fax numbers...For our personal contact and for easy communication between both of us.

I await your urgent response as further enquiries should be placed exclusively by phone and or Email; smithlawfirm@hotmail.co.uk

Kindly treat this with utmost despatch.

Yours Truly,

Gordon. S.Mark EsqDeceased Attorney
_________________________________________________________________
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