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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: william patrick <willpart03@outlook.com>
Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2014 15:20:24 +0100
Subject: CAN I TRUST YOU ?


Good Day !!
My name is William Patrick from Ivory coast. I am the only Son of Mr & Mrs Richard Patrick, I want you to help me and my younger sister invest in your country. I lost my mother at the age of 10, My father was poisoned to death during the war here in Cote D'Ivoire. Before the death of my late father he deposited the sum of 4.5 million dollars he kept in a SECURITY AND FINANCE COMPANY HERE IN ABIDJAN He also used my name to Deposit the money as his first Son for next of kin. But due to the political problem here and the reason behind my parents death; I will not wish to invest here, So I want you to assist me transfer this fund to your country for investment purpose since the law of your country demand that I look for partner. As for your kind assistance, I am willing to offer you 20% of the total sum after the successful end of the transaction. Contact me back if you are interested in assisting me, I will give you more details on how to bring fruitful of this transfer and also the contacts of the security company. Warmest Regards,
William Patrick

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