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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: "Mr James Komo" <james.komo1@hotmail.fr>
Date: Fri, 28 Jan 2011 16:07:26 +0100 (CET)
Subject: From James Komo

From James Komo

It is my pleasure to write you after much consideration, since I can not be able to see you face to face at first, please I need your help.
I am the James Komo the only son of late Chief Joseph Komo, from Cote d'Ivoire (I am 21years of age.
 
My father was a liability Cocoa and Gold merchant in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire before his untimely death.After his business trip to Tunisia,to nagociate on a cocoa and gold business he wanted to invest in Tunisia, a week after he came back from Tunisia, he got an accident with my mother of which my mother died instantly but my father died five days after in a private hospital. On that faithful afternoon, I didnt know that my father was going to leave me after I had earlier lost my mother, but before he gave up the ghost, it was as if he knew he was going to die.
 
He my father, (MAY HIS SOUL REST IN PERFECT PEACE) called me to his bed side and told me that he deposited the sum of ($10.5m) Ten Million five Hundred Thousand US Dollars in a bank here in Cote D' Ivoire.That the money was meant for his cocoa and Gold business he wanted to establish in Tunisia, according to my father he deposited the money in a fixed suspense account using my name as the next of kin, He instructed me to seek for a reliable and trust worthy business partner for my life time investment abroad.
 
Now I have succeeded in locating the deposit documents and the bank where this money is here in Abidjan,Cote d`Ivoire. Due to war in my country Cote d'Ivoire, I am now seeking for your assistance to help me transfer this money out from my country Cte dIvoire to your account abroad so that we should invest it in any meaningful and lucrative business in your country because this is my only hope in life. I am willing to offer you 15% of the total fund if only you can help me out of my present predicament.

The worst part of it is that my uncle is trying to kill me over this money because i refused to hand him over the documents covering this money, He has sold all my father's landed properties including his cars which rightful belong to me and now he want me to hanh over the banking document of my father in my possesion which i refused.Now he said that he will have this money by all means even if it means killing me, so because of this I ran away from home and hide in a hotel,pending when this money will be transfered so that i can leave the country for my safty.
 
I await your immediate response coupled with your direct telephone and fax numbers for easy communications.
 
please reply me to my private box at mr.jameskomo225@cantv.net 
 
thank's and God bless.
 Call +225 6122 7089
Yours sincerely,
James Komo.

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