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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: "Mrs. Terrence Cunningham" <rma@keychron.in>
Reply-To: mertinfly@gmail.com
Date: Sun, 24 Sep 2023 16:43:03 +0800
Subject: Dear Sir/Madam

Dear Sir/Madam

I hope this finds you well

My name Terrence Cunningham Inheritance Grand.

I am the private banker to the late Mr [Terrence] who passed away on the [17 May 2020] following several years of illness.

I am currently employed at [WYGROUPBANK] here in USA/South Africa where the late Mr [Terrence] owns a personal account which contains approximately $10.9 million at today’s exchange rate.

Due to the fact that Mr Terrence did not have a will and has no next of kin, I am contacting you because you happen to be his namesake (you both have the same names).

In order to have access to these funds, I’d need to legally introduce you as the second signatory on this account. Because I have been a private banker for several years now, I can assure you these funds will eventually be possessed by the bank if we do not go ahead with this.

My supervisors and in-house counsel lawyers are in on this with me.

Such a procedure is standard and straightforward. And with the help of my supervisors, it should be concluded within 7-10 working days.

Should you agree to this, I will need the following documentation emailed to me :

• An official document bearing your full name • A document bearing your home address (an electricity bill, clothing account bill etc) • A letter of employment

I will also need that you provide me with the following details:

• Age
• Marital status
• Home telephone number/Cell phone number to ease communication

Upon receipt of the documents and your personal details requested above, our in-house counsel will begin processing the necessary paperwork for the release of the funds.

Sir/Madam, upon conclusion of this transaction, the funds will be paid into a bank account bearing your name only. You are however entitled to 40% of the funds and myself and my colleagues get 60%. Please note that we’re all in this for the financial benefit and we will not appreciate any form of deceitfulness on your part once the funds are paid into your account.

I know you have concerns but again I need to assure you that you won’t be exposed to any type of risks. I’ve been involved in quite a number of similar undertakings and they’ve all been successful.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Kind regards,
Terrence Cunningham
Inheritance Grand
eply-to: mertinfly@gmail.com

Anti-fraud resources: