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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: "pateroma@cantv.net" <pateroma@cantv.net>
Date: Wed, 16 Dec 2009 18:34:06 -0430
Subject: URGENT

Greetings to your family


My name is Mr. Pater Oma, an accountant working with a Commercial Bank here in Abidjan Ivory Coast. I'm contacting you for a business deal to present you as the next of kin to one Mr.Richard Dulvy ,our deceased client so that the proceeds of his account with our Bank amounting to ($ 6 million US dollars) can be paid to you and then you and I will share the money.
 
We shall know ourselves better as soon as you indicate interest to work with me. I just want you to know that I have had everything planned out so that we shall come out successful, all I require is your honest co-operation to enable us see this deal through. I guarantee that this deal will be executed under all legitimate arrangement that will protect you from any breach of the law. Late Mr.Richard , is a Pakistan business man based here in my country. He use to supply goods to most of the Oil servicing company here in my country before he got a contract with the Kellogg Brown & Root, a subsidiary of the Houston-based oil company Halliburton in Iraq in 1999.
 
Before his death he made a numbered fixed deposit for years, with a value of (Six million United States Dollars) in my branch. Upon maturity in 2003, several notices were sent to him, even during the war in Iraq last year. Early this year another notification was sent and still no response came from him. We later found out that he was killed during the war since 5Th of December, 2004. According a reliable information I gather by myself, he was in a five-vehicle convoy  with some of the oil workers traveling from Baghdad when their car hit an improvised device.
 
The facts is that Mr Richard confided in me when he made the deposit, as a matter facts no one except me has the details of his deposit in our bank. So, the $6,000,000.00 (Six million United States Dollars) is still lying in our bank, and no one will ever come forward to claim it. What bothers me most is that according to the laws of my country, at the expiration of 5 years the funds will be reverted to the ownership of the Ivory Coast government, if nobody come up as the deceased next of kin to claim the funds. Against this backdrop, my suggestion to you is that I will like you as a foreigner to stand as his next of kin.
 
Please get back to me immediately for more details.
Looking forward to hearing from you.

Mr. Pater Oma.

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