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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: "Harrison Alex Smith" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <harrisonalexsmith@outlook.com>
Date: Fri, 20 Oct 2017 21:46:36 -0700
Subject: Good Day Please Very Urgent

Dear Friend,
 
I am Harrison Alex Smith, the Chief Executive Officer of a renowned law and auditing firm here in Spain. I was contracted to audit the accounting section of some firms in Spain. This audit in line with government policies and account reconciliation became necessary following the current European Economic crisis which Spain happens to be one of the most pretentious countries with the Euro Zone. Before I discuss anything with you, I must first apologize for this unanticipated letter as I am aware that this may not be a conventional way of approach to establish a relationship. However, the prevailing circumstance necessitated me to contact you via this medium.
 
 
During my audits, I discovered a dormant account of present value of Eleven Million five Hundred thousand euros (€11,500.000.00) due to inactivity. This said account has been dormant for over a decade as the initial owner of funds is demised. Upon my discovery of the above, I requested for the account opening file, which I have perused and all efforts to contact a family relation to the deceased person has proven abortive (as immediate family was part of the cataclysm). Against this backdrop, I decided to contact you in order to confirm whether or not you know or are related to the deceased family? This is because from our preliminary findings, you and the deceased happen to bear same surname and common heritage.
 
 
Taking into account that you both have a common surname, it could be possibly likened to a common genealogy. Though this might sound intriguing and possibly make one apprehensive, however were you are interested do contact me either via email, for further discussions. Lastly, owing to the sensitivity of this situation, I urge you to keep this proposal in utmost confidentiality pending our discussion.
 
 
Thanks for your time and expecting your response.
 
Harrison Alex Smith.

Anti-fraud resources: