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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

• About the 419 (Advance Fee) scam
• "Is that email a scam?" - Check it online here!
  
• Frequently asked Questions (419 FAQ)
• Phone numbers used by 419 scammers
  (+225 +229 +234 +27 +31 +32 +34 +44 other)
• Company names mentioned in 419 spam:
  1 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
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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.

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:

• An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "dear friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "contact me immediately" (they are rushing you so you don't have time to think properly)
  • "foreign remittance department" (Banks mentioned in 419 scams are always fake (real banks don't communicate using mobile phones or free webmail addresses))
• This email message is a next of kin scam.
• This email lists mobile phone numbers. Use of such numbers is typical for scams because they allow criminals to conceal their true location. They can receive calls in an Internet cafe from where they send you emails, while pretending to be in some office.
  • +2219966183 (Senegal, probably a prepaid mobile phone)
• This email lists free webmail addresses. Use of such addresses is typical for scams. Lotteries, banks and any but the smallest of companies do not normally use such addresses. Criminals use them to anonymously send and receive email at Internet cafes.
  • mr.ludovic@inmail24.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "Mr.Ludovick P.Johnson" <ludiojo1992@yahoo.com>
Reply-To: mr.ludovic@inmail24.com
Date: Mon, 25 Sep 2006 17:20:04 +0200
Subject: Re:Hello.


ATTENTION: Dear Friend,

I MAKE THIS APPEAL WITH THE UNDERSTANDING THAT ANY FACTS OR OPINION EXPRESSED BY ME ARE GIVING IN CONFIDENCE AND SOLELY FOR YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION AND USE.

I am Mr.Ludovick P.Johnson,the manager of bill and exchange at the foreign remittance department of my Bank. In my department I discovered an abandoned sum of US$8.5M,(Eight Million, Five Hundred Thousand US Dollars) with account number 14-2558-5976 that belongs to one of our foreign customers who died along with his wife and only daughter in a plane crash of Alaska Airlines Flight number 261 which crashed on 31 January, 2000. You shall read more about the crash on visiting this site http://www.cnn.com/2000/US/02/01/alaska.airlines.list/ The owner of this account is Mr. Morris Thompson an American and great industrialist and a resident of Alaska.

It is therefore upon this discovery that I now decided to make this business proposal to you and for our bank to release the money to you. You have to follow the instruction which I will send to you as the next of kin or relation to the deceased for safety and subsequent disbursement since nobody is coming for it and I don't want this money to go into our bank treasury as unclaimed bill.

The banking law and guidelines here stipulates that if such money remained unclaimed after Three years, the money will be transfered into the bank treasury as unclaimed fund. The money has now stayed more than three years and I am preparing documentaion to prove that this money has been transfered to our bank treasury. It will be between me and you only that will know that the money is not transfered into our treasure. The request of foreigner as next of kin in this transaction is occasioned by the fact that the customer was a foreigner and a Senegalese cannot stand as next of kin to a foreigner.

In appreciation of your assistance, I am offering you 30% of the total sum. 5% for contingencies (cost of transfer/other charges) likely to be incurred during the course of transaction, while the remaining 65% is for me.

Upon receipt of your reply, I will send to you by fax or email the text of the application which you will complete and forward to our bank asking for this money to be paid to you as the next of kin to Mr. Morris Thomson. I will not fail to bring to your notice that this transaction is hitch-free and that you should not entertain any fear as all required arrangements have been made for the transfer.

You should contact me immediately as soon as you receive this mail through the above altentive email at mr.ludovic@inmail24.com or you call me directly at +221 99 66 183.

PLEASE DO NOT HESITATE TO CONTACT ME IMMEDIATELY SHOULD YOU CONSIDER MY URGENT REQUEST.

Yours Faithfully,

Mr Ludovick P.Johnson

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam