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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: "Linda Lagu" <laldy@ovi.com>
Reply-To: laldiy6@gmail.com
Date: Mon, 12 Jan 2015 19:06:56 -0200 (BRST)
Subject: Good morning to you

Good morning to you.

Please permit my email. My name is Linda Lagu. I am 16 years old. I am
from Republic of South Sudan. I am an orphan as a result of the death of
my parents and three siblings. My parents and three of my siblings were
victims of the present crisis that is still going on in my country. It was
a very sad incident and an unbearable lost to me. May there soul rest in
perfect peace.

I have come across your contact email address through my late father's
international business directory and i decided to contact you to seek for
your kind assistance. My late father deposited some money totalling three
million five hundred thousand dollars in the bank and according to the
bank people, the money was meant to be transferred to his business partner
overseas. Now that i am the only surviving child, i want to relocate to
your country with this money so that I can further my education and also
invest it in real estate under your guardianship.

Because of the clause attached to the deposit and my limited status, i
would want to present your name to the bank as my guardian and my late
father's overseas business partner so that you can receive the money in
your bank account and after that you will help me to come over to your
country. It is true that i do not know you in person and we have not seen
each other before but i pray that you will have it in your heart to assist
me with all sincerity and honesty. I plead your understanding so that i
can present your name to the bank as my guardian and my late father's
overseas business partner so that the bank can contact you officially for
the transfer of the money to your bank account.

------------------------

After the death of my parents and three siblings i had to ran out of my
country to a refugee mission camp in a neighbouring country called Burkina
Faso just to safe my own life. Before then I was going through my late
father's important documents in his briefcase and i saw a bank document
about a deposit of money he made in a bank in Ivory Coast. The amount in
the bank document is three million five hundred thousand dollars. I
succeeded in locating the bank where my late father deposited the money
and identified my self properly and also informed the bank about the sad
fate my parents had suffered. The bank confirmed the deposit document and
said that my late father deposited the money in their bank escrow transit
account.

I am presently taking refuge in a Catholic Church here in Ivory Coast. I
need your urgent response so that i can present your name to the bank as
my guardian and my late father's overseas business partner. After
receiving the money in your bank account you will help me and invest it
properly into real estate business and also manage the investment until i
am capable.

Please if you can assist me with all sincerity and honesty and also help
me to secure a stay in your country then you can send your contact
information that the bank can use to contact you so that i can make your
name available to the bank as my late father's overseas business partner
and guardian that will attest on my behalf for the release of the money. I
am willing to give you any amount which you will wish to have after
helping me achieve my dream of relocating to your peaceful country with
this money. I hope with your adverse experience i can have the money
successfully transferred to your peaceful country and i will have a better
life to live in your country under your guardianship. Thank you and May
God bless you and your family as you help me achieve my dream of
relocating to your country to start a new life and further my education
under your guardianship.

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