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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: "Mr Williams" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <joshualafontwilliams@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 3 May 2022 23:49:02 -0700
Subject: Dear Sir / Madam

Dear Sir / Madam
 
 
 
I hope this email meets you in good health, I am inspired to send you this email following the huge funds involved  and  will be of mutual benefit to the both of us.
 
However, my name is Joshua Lafont Williams ,attorney to the late Bruce Letendre, a Canadian national, who has worked and lived in the states for 35 years, On the 11th of November,2008. My client,his wife And their three children were involved in a ghastly car crash, unfortunately they all lost their lives, Since then I have made several inquiries to try  to locate any of my clients extended relatives, this has proved unsuccessful.
 
 
 
After these several unsuccessful attempts, I decided to trace his relatives over the Internet to locate any member of his family but has proved futile, hence I contacted you to assist in repatriating the funds and property left behind by my client,I can easily convince the bank as a legal luminary that you are the only surviving relative of my client, otherwise the Estate he left behind will be confiscated or declared unserviceable by the bank where these huge deposits were lodged,Particularly, the Bank where the deceased had an account.
 
 
 
Consequently,The bank issued me a notice to provide the next of kin or have the account confiscated within the next ten official working days. Since I have been unsuccessful in trying to locate any member of his extended family, I seek your consent to present you as the next of kin to the deceased,so that the proceeds of this account can be paid to your account and then you and I can share the money.
 
All I  require from you  is your maximum co-operation to enable us to get this done smoothly, If you received this message in your SPAM/BULK folder,I urge you to treat it genuinely.
 
 
Yours Faithfully,
Barr Joshua.L.Williams

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