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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: "Patrick Chan Esq." (may be fake)
Reply-To: <chan2331@blumail.org>
Date: Tue, 8 Feb 2011 00:48:07 -0700
Subject: Dear Friend

Dear Friend,

Naturally, this letter will come to you as a surprise, since I am Barrister Patrick Chan contacting you to kindly assist me in the proposition below, which will be of mutual benefit to us both.
PROPOSITION

A Salvadorian, Mr. Ramirez Videurre, 66 years of age and a very prosperous farmer made a huge bank deposit for investment in the sum of US$21.2 Million (Twenty-one Million, Two hundred thousand United States Dollars) he named his wife Mrs. Helga Videurre as the NEXT OF KIN . I was called upon as an Accredited Attorney to the bank to sign and endorse documents to this deposit on Mr. Videurre?s behalf.
Unfortunately, Mr.& Mrs. Videurre were killed in the January 14, earthquake that rocked El Salvador, killing thousands of people and 1200 others were declared missing. The bank management now mandates me (being the lawyer that signed and endorsed the deposit papers for the deceased to trace the family relatives of the deceased so that the fund will be released to them.

I was made to understand that they had no children. I made several efforts through the El Salvador Probate British to contact any of the deceased family relatives, but to no avail. Failure to reach any of the family relatives of the deceased , the only option left for the Banks Management is to declare the deceased account dormant and revert the fund on trading and investment in the interest of the bank. In order to avoid this development since it has so far been impossible to trace any of the deceased family relatives. I now seek your permission and assistance to have you stand as a distant relatives to the deceased. So that the fund can be released to you and we can use it for our mutual benefit.
I hope you do understand my concern in this matters, that if we do not use this opportunity to claim this fund , since the deceased relatives cannot be traced, the management of the bank will declare the deceased account dormant and revert the fund on Trading and Investment in the interest of the bank. For your assistance, you will be compensated adequately with (30%) of the total sum (65%) will be my own share while (5%) will be set aside to cover any incidental expense made both at home and abroad prior to this transaction. If you are interested in assisting me with this matter, please send to me urgently via my EMAIL the following details below:

Your Full Name:_____________________
Your Complete Address:________________________
Name of City of Residence:________________________
Date of Birth (Day/Month/Year):__________________
Direct Telephone Number: ____________________
Mobile Number: ____________________________
Fax Number:___________________________________

Upon receiving the above details from you, I will work out every documents/proof representing you as the deceased BONA-FIDE distant relative and when this is done, you will be contacted by the bank for the release and collection of this fund, which will be within one week of my receiving the above details from you .
I will meet with you in your country for disbursement after the fund might have been released to you and also to discuss investment potentials as I will like to invest in your country with your assistance. Be assured that this transaction is 100% risk free, as I have taken care of all necessary modalities to enable a hitch free transaction. Kindly ensure to treat this matter in strict privacy(Highly Confidential).

Yours Sincerely
Patrick Chan Esq.

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