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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: "Yahaya" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <yakubuyahaya772@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 31 Oct 2017 14:00:06 -0700
Subject: Important Notice

Dear sir/madam,
 
Good day to you please I need you to treat this communication with the highest level of confidentiality that it deserves. I am Yahaya Yakubu brother to the former NNPC GMD Andrew Yakubu who recently was accused to have hidden some huge amount of money in a safe, See link below:
 
http://www.nigerianmonitor.com/andrew-yakubu-9-8m-andrew-yakubu-ex-nnpc-gmd-andrew-yakubu-photos/
 
I am in possession of a large sum of money which I cannot disclose now, kept at a security company by my brother but with the search presently zeroed on him and his immediate family it is almost impossible for me to come forward to claim this money hence this contact.
 
All I require of you is to stand as a beneficiary of these funds, all documentations that will pose you as the original owner is already in place to facilitate this. I will give you more details as soon as I hear from you so that we can also establish voice contact,
 
Thank you again as I await your immediate response.
 
Sincerely,
 
Yahaya.

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