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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: Kenneth Williams <kenjuliet21@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 4 Sep 2018 03:42:56 +0900 (JST)
Subject: Kenneth & Juliet Williams

Hello dear,

With due respect
and heart full of tears we write this letter to solicit your help in
migrating to your country, My name is Kenneth Williams and my younger
sister Juliet, we are the children of Late General Alexander Williams
the former Director of military intelligence and special acting General
Manager of the Sierra Leone Diamond mining operation(SLDMC ). I am
contacting you to seek your good assistance to transfer and invest USD18
million belonging to my late father which is deposited in a bank in
Abidjan. This money is revenues from solid minerals and diamonds sale
which were under my fathers possession before the civil war broke out.

Following
the brake out of the war, almost all government offices, cooperation’s
and prostates were attacked and vandalized. The SLDMC was looted and
burnt down to ashes, and diamonds worth millions of dollars was stolen
by the rebel military forces who attacked my fathers office. Many top
government officials and senior army officers were assassinated and my
father was a key target because of his very sensitive military position
and appointment in the SLDMC. Regrettably, my father was captured and
murdered along with half brother in cool blood during a mid-night rebel
shoot-out when our official residence in Freetown was ambushed by Forday
Sanko the notorious rebel leader. My mother sustained very sever bullet
injuries which resulted to her untimely and painful death in a private
hospital here in Ivory Coast.

Now we are alone in a totally
strange country without parents, relatives or any body to care for us at
our tender ages. Before our mother died, she told us that our father
deposited some money which he made from diamond sales and contracts at
this bank here in Ivory Coast and that we should pray and find a
trustworthy foreign business partner who would help us to transfer and
invest this money in profitable business venture overseas. She told us
to do this quickly so that we can leave Ivory Coast with our cousin
brother-Arthur who is here in the camp with us and, then settle down
abroad. She gave us all the bank documents to prove the deposit and then
told us that my father used my name as the only son to deposit the
money in the bank. She told us that this is the reason why we came to
Ivory Coast. My mother died afterwards. May her spirit rest in perfect
peace. I have gone to the bank to make inquires about this money and I
spoke with the director of International remittance who assured me that
the everything is intact and promised to help me transfer this money to
my foreign partners bank account as soon as I provide my partners
foreign bank account for them. However, the director is very concerned
because of my age, I am 17 years and as such promised to help me and he
would like to speak with my partner to ensure that this money is
invested wisely in only profitable business because of his personal
interest and sympathy for me.

Please note that I can only offer
you 15% of the total money as compensation for your noble assistance in
accordance with my mothers advise. I am interested in any profitable
commercial venture which you consider very good in your country and you
would also get a school for me, my little sister and cousin so that we
can finish our college education. I shall give you more details when I
receive your urgent response.

Thanks, and God bless you, give you
the wisdom to carry out this great deal. Awaiting anxiously to hear
from you so that we can discuss the modalities of this transaction.

I await your immediate response.
Yours sincerely.
Kenneth & Juliet Williams

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