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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 James Harbottle" (may be fake)
Date: Thu, 23 Feb 2023 13:59:52 +0100
Subject: From Mr James Harbottle

Dear Beloved,

My name is Mr. James Harbottle;

Apologies if my letter came to you as a surprise, There is an unclaimed “permanent life insurance policy” held by our deceased client.
The transaction pertains to an unclaimed “Payable on death” (POD) savings monetary deposit in the sum of Ten Million, Five Hundred United States Dollars ($10,500,00). The policy holder was one of our clients, Late Dr. Philip Vegrial, who was a real estate investor and precious stone dealer. He died as a result of 2004 TSUNAMI. Since His death no one has come forward for the claim and all our efforts to locate his relatives have proved unsuccessful.
Therefore, I ask for your consent to be in partnership with me for the claim of this policy benefit, in view of the striking similarity in same last name and nationality with the deceased. If you permit me to add your name to the policy, all proceeds will be processed on your behalf. I wish to point out that I want 10% of this money to be shared among charity organizations while the remaining 90% will be shared between us. I will provide all the relevant documents to substantiate your claim as the beneficiary. This claim
For more details please contact me via email: jamesharbottle@zohomail.eu

Best regards
Mr James Harbottle

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