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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: mercy oscar <mercy.oscar11@yandex.com>
Date: Sun, 1 Feb 2015 21:09:22 +0000 (UTC)
Subject: Please I need your help,


Greetings my Dear,
 
    How are you today, with hope you are found in good condition of health?, Dear I have decided to contact you after much thought considering the fact that we have not meet before, but because of some circumstance oblige me, I decided to contact you due to the urgency of my present situation here in the refugee camp for your rescue and also for a business venture/project which I I need your assistant in this business establishment in your country as my foreign partner as well as my legal appointed trustee , Meanwhile my Name is Ms Mercy Oscar Kamau King’ara, 24yrs old female and I from Kenya here in Africa. My late father was a Kenyan lawyer and human rights activist who was the Chief Executive Officer and Communications and Advocacy Officer of the Oscar Foundation Free Legal Aid Clinic Kenya (OFFLACK). My Father was brutally shot dead on Thursday 5Th March 2009 after a government spokesman accused their group of aiding a criminal gang. What led to the cold blood killing is still unclear but I know that my father life was the target. You can read more about my father on the link below. http://www.fidh.org/en/africa/kenya/Kenya-Assassination-of-Messrs

My dear, haven’t meet with you before I intend to disclose this to you with trust as a top secret which I believe you will never turn me down neither disclose it to anybody until everything is successfully done I will relocate over to your country. My Late Father made a fixed deposit of the sum of Eight Million Five Hundred Thousand United State Dollars ($8.500.000.00) in one of the Banks here in Burkina Faso, with my name as his legal biological next of kin, which I confirmed his statement positively from the bank. But unfortunately on my arrival to the Bank to withdraw the fund, the Bank foreign Operation Department Director whom I meet in person told me that my father instruction to their bank is that the fund would only be release to me when I am married or present a trustee/partner who will help me and invest the fund overseas after the transfer, and the bank ask me to go and look for a foreign partner who will be representing me as my legal appointed trustee and present beneficiary that was why I decided to contact you.

However my Dear, all am requesting from you is for your kind assistant in transferring this my inheritance money into your bank account for investment assistance in your Country as my legal appointed trustee as the bank mentioned and it will be my intention to compensate you with 40% of the total fund for your services and help then the balance shall be my capital in your establishment which you are going to establish for me there in your country or position as my trustee and manger, note that immediately after the transfer i will relocate over to your country or position and further my education studies and spend the rest of my life while you will be acting as my investor and guarding. Please consider my request as my life is being hugely affected here in the refugee camp.
 
Thanks a lot in your prompt positive response to help me out. I shall give you more details of the transfer in my next mail.
 
Yours Sincerely Mercy Oscar.

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