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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: "Mr. Kenneth Richard" <>
Reply-To: kennethricard94@gmail.com
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 2020 15:15:42 +0100
Subject: FYI...

Dear Friend,

My name is Kenneth Richard, I am an auditor general in a financial institution in Kyiv, Ukraine. While performing an audit few years ago, I discovered an account, that has laid dormant since the 2017 and currently that same account still remains dormant till date, this was again noticed during my most recent audit. The account belongs to a dead foreigner, late Mr. Said Muhammad Ibrahim, who died in 2015. Every effort made to track any member of his family or next of kin has since failed. For the past couple of years I was tasked by my firm to locate any of his relatives and if I was unable to do so the money would naturally go to the necessary governmental bodies. Due to internal corruption by my superiors, such funds are normal shared among them in ways of executive bonuses.

My intention is to transfer this sum of $15.5M in the aforementioned account to a safe account overseas. I am therefore proposing that you quietly partner with me and provide an account or set up a new one that will serve the purpose of receiving this fund. For your assistance in this venture, I am ready to part with a good percentage of the entire funds.

After going through the deceased person's records and files, I discovered that:

• No one has operated this account since 2017
• He died without an heir; hence the money has been floating
• No other person knows about this account and there was no known beneficiary

Hence I got in contact with you to stand as his next of kin since I can and will use my position here to get all the necessary documents that will back you up as the next of Kin. He died leaving no heir or a will. If I do not remit this money urgently, it would be forfeited and subsequently converted to company's funds that will benefit only the directors of my firm. This money can be approved to you legally as with all the necessary documentary approvals in your name. However, you would be required to show some proof of claim that I will provide you with and also guide you on how to make your applications.

Please do understand that this project has been well thought of and planned to ensure that we enjoy the proceed with absolute peace of mind. Please note that I am doing this transaction based on my moral justification and I believe that you will understand my position after reading through this email. I am married with two children, one lovely daughter and a son, I can assure you that with the way I have planned this project, we can never have any kind of problems during and after this transaction. I would very much love to provide the best available life for my family. The modalities for the successful completion of the project have been worked out carefully and we cannot go wrong as long as you follow my instructions religiously and there is no risk or possibility of failure if the project is given the high priority and dedication that it deserves

Please my direct involvement in this process should not be mentioned to anybody that will be contacting you from my company or else it will jeopardize the entire transaction as you will be expected to make all direct communications with the Head of the International Fund Remittance Department of my company, while I will be behind the scene to tell you what to do and say.

Please do give me a reply so that I can send you detailed information on the modalities of my proposition. I completely trust you to keep this proposition absolutely confidential. Kindly forward your telephone and fax numbers where I can reach you easily. I look forward to your prompt response.

Regards,
Kenneth Richard

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