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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.

Click here to report a problem with this page.

 

 

Some comments by the Scam-O-Matic about the following email:

Fraud email example:

From: "Martin Allen" <mtllllen@googlemail.com>
Date: Sun, 10 Jun 2012 16:32:05 -0000 (UTC)
Subject: urgent response




Good day,

This is a personal email directed to you and I request that it is treated
as such. My name is Martin Allen, a solicitor at law.

I am the personal attorney/sole executor to a client of mine, now
deceased, and who worked as an independent oil magnate in my country. He
died in a car crash with his immediate family on the 4th of
October,2000.Since the death of my client in Oct,2000,I have written
several letters to the embassy with intent to locate any of his extended
relatives whom shall be claimants/beneficiaries of his abandoned personal
estate, and all such efforts have been to no avail.

More so, I have received official letters in the last few weeks suggesting
a likely proceeding for confiscation of his abandoned personal assets in
line with existing laws by the bank in which my client deposited the sum
of 3.8 million British Pounds On this note, I decided to search for a
credible person who can handle this claim, that I may, with your consent,
present you to the "trustee" bank as my late client's surviving family
member so as to enable you put up a claim to the bank in that capacity as
a next of kin of my client.

Therefore, to facilitate the immediate transfer of this fund, you need,
first to contact me signifying your interest, and as soon as I obtain your
confidence, I will immediately appraise you with the complete details as
well as fax or e-mail you the documents, with which you are to proceed and
I shall direct on how to put up an application to the bank and I propose
that 35% of the net sum will accrue to you at the conclusion of this deal
in so far as I do not incur further expenses.

However, you will have to accent to an express agreement which I will
forward to you in order to bind us in this transaction. Upon the receipt
of your reply, I will send you by fax or E-mail the next step to take. I
will not fail to bring to your notice that this proposal is hitch-free and
that you should not entertain any fears as the required arrangements have
been made for the completion of this transfer. Like I said, I require only
a solemn confidentiality on this.


Yours Sincerely,

Martin Allen
+447035979404
mtllllen@googlemail.com

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