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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: Waheed Karim <j6282629@aol.fr>
Reply-To: wahidkarm@gmail.com
Date: Tue, 3 Jun 2014 15:42:21 +0100
Subject: NEW AND IMPORTANT READ.

Hello.
 
I assume you and your family are in good health. I am the Foreign Operations Manager at one of the leading generation bank here in Burkina Faso West Africa. This being a wide world in which it can be difficult to make new acquaintances and because it is virtually impossible to know who is trustworthy and who can be believed, i have decided to repose confidence in you after much fasting and prayer. It is only because of this that I have decided to confide in you and to share with you this confidential business.
 
In my bank; there resides an overdue and abandoned huge amount of money. When the account holder suddenly passed on, he left no beneficiary who would be entitled to the receipt of the amount. For this reason, I have found it expedient to transfer this currency to a trustworthy individual with capacity to act as foreign business partner. Thus i humbly request your assistance to claim this amount.
 
Upon the transfer of this amount in your account, you will take 45% as your share from the total currency, 10% will be shared to Charity Organizations in both country and 45% will be for me. Please if you are really sure you can handle this project, contact me immediately for details of the amount involved. I am looking forward to read from you soon. You can contact me on my private email address(wahidkarm@gmail.com) for further details
 
Thanks
Your Good friend,
Mr Waheed Karim.

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