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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: "Margaret Collins" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <margretcollins@relianceminesltd.com>
Date: Wed, 8 Nov 2017 15:04:56 +0100
Subject: Sincere Response .

Hello my dear,
 
 
Greetings today in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, I hope you are fine, if so thanks be to God Almighty.
 
 
Please permit me to introduce myself to you, my name is Mrs Margaret .......... I was married to late Mr Rawlings........ who was the former director of Gold Coast Company Ghana Limited.
We were married for 26 years without a child. But my husband died of cardiac Arrest and since then I am living alone. Recently, my doctor told me that I will not last for the next six months due to cancer problem which I am battling for years now.
 
 
Based on this development, I decided to donate to you the sum of $8,500,000 which my late Husband deposited with one of the commercial Bank here in Ghana. I want to donate this fund to less privileged ones in the society through you since we don't have any child to Inherit this fortune.
 
 
Presently, I am in a hospital here because the cancer has resulted to stroke.
I took this decision because I don't have any child that will inherit this fund, And I don't want in away where this money will be used in an ungodly way because I and my late husband vowed that we shall use this fund for God's service but unfortunately my Husband died unexpectedly and since then my Husband's relatives are looking for ways to block all his properties because I don't have a child for their brother of which they have succeeded in blocking other of his properties but they don't know about this fund being deposited in the Bank.
 
 
I cannot do anything myself about this issue now due to my sickness that is why I am contacting you for your assistance.
 
 
I have the related document for the deposit and I will forward it to you as soon as I see your readiness for this plea of assistance.
Please this issue needs an absolute confidentiality until the fund gets to you sucessfully.
 
 
Thanks for now and may God bless us, while looking forward to hear from you AT margretcollins@relianceminesltd.com. Please always join me in prayers because I will be going on more surgery very soon.
 
 
Regards,
Mrs Margaret Collins 
Email : margretcollins@relianceminesltd.com

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