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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: "Paco Martinez" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <Pacomartinez79@consultant.com>
Date: Thu, 17 Oct 2024 21:16:03 +0200
Subject: Important Business Proposal

My name is Barr. Paco Martinez Managing Partner at Paco Martinez Abogados SL Actually, I got your contact information through the World's public records while searching for a last name similar to my late client whom was an expatriate and a business magnate by name Mrs. Ellen who lived in Spain for over a decade.She died along with her family in a car accident in 2018. Before I digress, I must first apologize for this unsolicited mail to you.I am aware that this is certainly an un-orthodox way to foster a relationship of trust. Yet, I felt compelled due to the prevailing circumstances and the urgency surrounding this claim.
 
Prior to her death she deposited the cash sum of $ 15. 500.000.00 (Fifteen Million, Five Hundred Thousand US Dollars) with a bank here in Spain. Being the attorney to late Mrs. Ellen and family, the bank has authorized me to present the heir / heiress to make Claims else the deposited fund will be confiscated and taken to the State Treasury as unclaimed funds.
 
Following the above I embarked on an exhaustive search for a direct family member to my late client which came to no avail.Being the fact that she was an expatriate,it was difficult and impossible to locate her family relations. Based on this and the ultimatum I was given from the bank to look for a relative to come for the claim fund or it will be liquidated and made unserviceable in accordance with existing deposit laws here in the kingdom of Spain.Against this backdrop, my suggestion to you is that I enjoin you to stand as the next of kin and beneficiary to my late client deposited fund, I know you may not be anyway related to my late client but having a common surname with her and the modality I have in place, I can guarantee that if you follow my instructions and upon our capitalizing of some judicial loopholes the fund will be released to us.
 
All I require is your honest cooperation to enable us to achieve this transaction. I wish to point out that I suggest 20% of this money to be donated to Charity Organizations, while the remaining 80% is shared equally between us.If you are interested, please get back to me.Upon your response, I shall then provide you with more details that will help you understand this transaction well.
 
Kindly indicate your response to this mail by sending to me the following information to let me file a letter of claim.
 
FULL NAMES: ___________________________________
GENDER: _______________________________________
DATE OF BIRTH: _________________________________
COUNTRY OF RESIDENCE: __________________________
HOME ADDRESS: __________________________________
OFFICE ADDRESS: _________________________________
TELEPHONE NUMBER: __________
OCCUPATION: ______________________________________
YOUR PRIVATE EMAIL ADDRESS: _____________
 
Your urgent response will be highly anticipated and appreciated.
 
Best regards,
Barrister Paco Martinez

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