最近收到一位自称非洲一间银行行长的奇怪邮件，说是在他的银行里有位死了的客户遗留下15万美元未有处理，想要给我，并且等他退休后和我分享。天下间哪有这种快事？一看就是不义之财，绝对是个诡计。文字内容表达的还挺可怜的，但英文书写却一点也不规范。

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.

Every name of a person or company or postal address listed below is FAKE.

The criminals invent names or addresses or abuse names of real people or companies.

Any real people or companies mentioned here have NO CONNECTION to the scammers!

Fraud email example:

    From: rahim ahmed
    Reply-To:
    Date: Thu, 2 Aug 2007 19:36:54 +0200
    Subject: From Mr. Rahim, Awaiting your reply and call

    Mr Rahim AhmedThe Manager of Audit [AND] Account Department, AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK (A.D.B.)Ouagadougou, Burkina-Faso.

Dear Friend,
    

Please read carefully, This is secret and confidential. I hope that you are well today. I am the Manager of Audit and account dept of our bank, with due respect i decided to contact you over this business financial transaction worth the sum of FIFTEEN MILLION, TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS ( 15.2Million usd ) in other to entrust this fund into your bank account. This is an abandoned fund that belongs to the one of our bank customers who died along with his entire family on 31th July,2000 in a plane crash disaster. Website ( http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/859479.stm ) I was very fortune to meet the deceased file when i was arranging the old and abandoned customers files of 2000-2001 in other to submit to the bank managements accordingly for documentation purposes. Following our banking financial policy, it was obviously indicated and signed law fully that if such money remains unclaimed after Eight years without somebody been a foreigner apply and claim the fund as the next of kin , the money will be transferred into the Bank Treasury as an unclaimed fund. So the request of you as a foreigner is necessarily needed for this claim because a citizen of Burkina Faso cannot come forward to claim the fund since the law does not permit an indigene to claim such fund Since the real beneficary of the fund is died , the bank are expecting the next of kin to apply for the release of the fund for him or her without delay but unfortunately i learnt through the investigations which I carried out that there is nobody behind who can come and claim the fund. Therefore i want you to assist and apply to the bank with your reliable bank account details where our bank will transfer the fund into and immediately the fund is transferred into your account ,i will share the fund according to the percentage indicated below. (50%) of the total fund will be for me, (40%) for you in provision of the Bank account and assistance, while (5%) will be for unexpected expenses during the transfer, and (5%) will be preserved for helping the helpless people, like charity organization and motherless babies. Thereafter you will help me to visit your country for sharing the money according to the percentage indicated above. And for the immediate transfer of this fund into your bank account as arranged, you must apply first to the bank as the only existing next of kin to the deceased customer and after approval which will take place immediately as you applied, the transfer of the fund into your nominated bank account will proceed.

Please note that you should keep this business as Top Secret until you confirm the transfer into the bank account which you will provide. And there is NO RISK in this business if you can be following my instructions as an insider here in the bank. The bank will forward to you all necessary documents related to the transfer and which will prove that you make a legal claim of inheritance. And i want you to assure me solemnly that you are a trsutwothy,reliable,honest and capable to avoid cheating me in this business. If you are really sure of your integerity, Reply and call me through my private line on +226 7637 9105 immediatelly you receive this mail for more detailed information on how the process to transfer the fund into your account will be. Am looking forward hearing from you. Yours faithfully, Mr Rahim Ahmed