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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: "Pierre Albert" <admin@virtualprivateserver.com.br>
Reply-To: pierrealbert942@gmail.com
Date: Mon, 07 Dec 2020 06:43:09 -0800
Subject: CAN I WORK WITH YOU ?

Greetings to you,

Compliments of the season. My name is Mr. Pierre Albert, I work in a Bank here in Benin Republic. I personally handle the transactions and secret account of Mr. Hassan Hussein who died on the 1st of April 2020 whilst infected by COVID-19 disease.

Before his death, Mr. Hassan Hussein has the sum of ($18.7M) in a fixed deposit account with my bank, with no other beneficiary or next of kin. I write to seek your consent to present you as a foreign partner to stand in as the next of kin to the late Mr.Hassan Hussein.

I do not want this money to go into the bank's treasury as an unclaimed fund that has no next of kin or any other beneficiary on it. I am doing this business with you because the management of my bank is ready to approve this payment to any foreigner who has the correct information to this account, which I will give to you when I am sure of your capability to handle such amount in strict confidence and trust according to my instructions and advice for our mutual benefit.

If you find this proposal acceptable, I shall require the following details from you, for easy communication.

1. Your full name
2. Your telephone number
3. Your country

Send the above details to my private email: pierrealbert942@gmail.com

Best Regards,
Pierre Albert.
pierrealbert942@gmail.com

Anti-fraud resources: