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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: "Edward FOFO" <webs---offf@att.net>
Reply-To: <fofoedward2@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 9 May 2011 11:40:25 -0000
Subject: PRIVATE MESSAGE TO YOU

FROM:MR.EDWARD FOFO.
GHANA COMMERCIAL BANK LIMITED
203,HIGH STREET.
ACCRA-GHANA.
TELL:+233206311843

Dear Friend,

With all due respect to your personality, I request that you do not feel disturbed as I know that business of this magnitude will surely make one apprehensive.I write to solicit your utmost confidence, knowing too well that we have neither known nor met each other before, but because you and the late Mr.William Lewis MAYBE from the same country. Having searched through the internet,from where I got your email address, I hereby request that you become the Next of Kin to the late customer of our bank, Late Mr.William Lewis, who died in West Africa here and abandoned a fixed deposit of (USD$15.500.000.00), without a specified next of kin to inherit the deposit at the time of his death.(Maybe he did this because of the fact that he was into crude oil deals called)"Oil bunckering" here in west Africa.

My name is Edward FOFO. I am an accountant and the accounting officer to the William Lewis in the GHANA COMMERCIAL BANK ACCRA,GHANA. In the financial Laws of the Federal Republic of GHANA, the holding bank is required to repatriate any abandoned fund by a foreigner if nobody comes to claim the said funds after three (3) years of the confirmation of the death of the depositor.

For the past three years, all the effort of our Customer Service Department to trace any relative of the Late Mr. William Lewis has proved abortive. I do not want this funds to go into the hands of our corrupt government officials,who have embezzled our national funds all these years. My interest in this abandoned deposit is as follows:

(1) To see that this abandoned deposit is not handed over incidentally to some corrupt officials of the government.

(2) To make you the Next of Kin to the late Mr. William Lewis and whom he has willed the said deposit before his death.

(3) To ensure that the deposited funds is transferred to you as your INHERITANCE.

(4) To ensure that my own share of it is invested wisely in your country in any viable area of investment.

Bear in mind that the entire transaction will be risk -free involvement from your side and legitimate since the funds will be coming to you as your INHERITANCE. If this proposition is acceptable by you, respond to me ASAP but if not acceptable by you, do not take advantage of it to betray me.

This is my private contact email(fofoedward2@gmail.com)

God bless.
Edward FOFO
+233206311843

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