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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: "Dr. Lawrance Vis" <drlawrancevis11@msn.com>
Reply-To: drlawrancevis1@gmail.com
Date: Sun, 05 Jul 2015 00:47:49 -0700
Subject: LETTER!


Dear Friend, Please accept my apologies if this request does not meet your =
personal ethics as it is not intended to cause you any embarrassment in wha=
t ever form. I got your contact email address from the internet directory a=
nd decided to contact you for this transaction that is based on trust and y=
our outstanding. I have an interesting business proposal for you that will =
be of immense benefit to both of us. Although this may be hard for you to b=
elieve, but we stand to gain (19,500,000.00 GBP between us in a matter of d=
ays. Please grant me the benefit of doubt and hear me out. My name is Dr.La=
wrance Vis. I work with KAS Bank here in London as bank manager. I discover=
ed an abandoned sum of (19,500,000.00 GBP (Nineteen Million Five Hundred Th=
ousand British Pounds) in an account that belongs to one of our foreign cus=
tomers Late Dr. Erin Jacobson, an American citizen who unfortunately lost h=
is life and his entire family in Montana plane crash on March 23, 2009, on =
their way to a group ski vacation.The choice of contacting you is aroused f=
rom the geographical nature of where you live, particularly due to the sens=
itivity of this transaction and the confidentiality herein. Now our bank ha=
s been waiting for any of the relatives to come up for the claim but nobody=
has done that. I personally tried to locate any member of his family but h=
ave been unsuccessful in locating the relatives for four years now, i have =
also checked the deposit documents and discovered that he did not declare a=
ny next of kin on the deposit. Now the Management of our bank as instructed=
to look for the next of kin or they will convert the funds into the Govern=
ment Treasury Account as unclaimed funds and the funds will be wasted. Ther=
efore, I cannot claim these funds without presenting a foreigner to stand a=
s next of kin. This is why I contacted you to seek your consent to present =
you as an next of kin so that the funds will be release to you, then we sha=
re it 50% for me and 50% for you because am not a greedy person and is deal=
between me and you. I have employed the service of an Attorney who will se=
cure all necessary legal documents that could be used to back up this claim=
. All the attorney need to do is to fill in your names to the documents and=
legalize it in the Court here to prove you as the legitimate next of kin t=
o the late depositor Dr. Erin Jacobson then the bank will release the funds=
to you as the rightful beneficiary. This is a fair deal without any risk a=
ttached either on your part or on my part as long as we comply with the law=
s governing the claiming of funds in our establishment. All I require is yo=
ur honest co-operation to enable us sees this deal through, and with my pos=
ition in the bank as a bank manager, I will do every thing possible to prot=
ect your interest and to make sure that everything workout successfully. If=
you are interested in this deal, kindly send me your complete information,=
your full names and address, Your Private telephone and Fax numbers, and C=
ell phone so that the attorney will start processing the necessary paperwor=
k that would facilitate the release of the funds to you. Best regards, Dr.L=
awrance Vis. Dear Friend, Thanks for your response and interest in this dea=
l. Please read the message below on how this transaction will be process an=
d completed successfully without any delay. 1. I have discussed with the At=
torney Barrister James Taylor, and we already worked out the procedure to e=
xecute this deal successfully. The lawyer said that this transaction will t=
ake us 10 working days to be completed, because before the funds =A319,500,=
000.00 will be approved in your name and release to you. The lawyer need to=
go to the British High Court and process obtain all the legal documents in=
your name, he will secure an Approval document from the Royal Court of Jus=
tice in your name, an affidavit of claim will be obtained in your name from=
the Royal Court of Justice here in United Kingdom, your name will be regis=
ter in the Probate Registry, which will indicate you as the legal next of k=
in to Dr Erin Jacobson and automatically make you the beneficiary of the de=
posited amount =A319,500,000.00, and after all the documentation's has been=
processed and send to you, the KAS Bank Netherlands will contact you for t=
he transfer of the inheritance funds into your nominated bank account of yo=
ur choice. 2. Now for us to proceed further towards this transaction. I wou=
ld like to know more about you, What do you do for a living? and how old ar=
e you? are you married or single?, i need this information so that i will k=
now more about the person am dealing with. kindly send me your complete inf=
ormation, your full names and address, company name and address, your telep=
hone and Fax numbers, and Cell phone. 3. Upon the receipt of the above info=
rmation, i shall forward them to the attorney (Barrister James Taylor Esq) =
to contact you and start processing the documentation's immediately. Please=
my friend, i will not want a situation after transferring the funds into y=
our bank account, I will start having problem with you of getting my own sh=
are of the money 50% for me and 50% for you as agreed. Please is very impor=
tant!! 4. Finally, I want you to understand that If you really want us to a=
chieve a success in this business, we must put our hands together work as a=
friend and partner and trust each other with full co-operation to be able =
to achieve a success in this business, because any business without trust, =
understanding and co-operation can never be successful. Official ID Card is=
attached so that you will know me better and i will like to receive yours =
too. Awaiting for your immediate response. Dr. Lawrence Vis, 00441212852406

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