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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

• About the 419 (Advance Fee) scam
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• Phone numbers used by 419 scammers
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• Company names mentioned in 419 spam:
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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:

• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "please endeavor to " (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "to your nominated bank account" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
  • "million british pounds" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
  • ",000,000" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
  • "00,000.00" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
  • "there is no risk involved" (almost true for the criminal - arrests of online criminals are rare)
• This email message is a next of kin scam.

Fraud email example:

From: Mr.Spencer Mark <spencer_private117@msn.com>
Reply-To: <private_spencer@live.com>
Date: Mon, 26 Jan 2009 00:53:09 +0000
Subject: Re:Contact Me!



Hello, May I be Granted the opportunity to introduce Myself, My Name is Prof.Spencer Mark,I am the Auditor/Manager of the Bank of Scotland. I have an obscured business suggestion for you.There is an account opened in this bank and the money is Lying in an inactive account awaiting liquidation,The funds is valued £15,000,000.00 (Fifteen Million British Pounds) It belongs to one of our foreign customers By Name Engr.Gambone Michael.Before he died,He was a petroleum/Gas contractor with the British National Petroleum Corporation,He died with his wife Named Gambone Deborah on board the Swiss air Flight 111,Which crashed into the Atlantic,off Nova Scotia in september 2nd 1998.The news of this crash was on the news which my efforts to notify his relatives leads to no avail.You can read more about the death of Engr.Gambone Michael on visiting these sites below: http://edition.cnn.com/WORLD/9809/swissair.victims.list/index.htmlhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/163662.stmhttp://www.greatdreams.com/crash.htmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swissair_Flight_111 After further investigation it was also discovered that Engr.Gambone Michael did not declare any next of kin in his official papers including the paper work of his bank deposit And he also confided in me the last time he was at my office that no one except me knew of his deposit in my bank.So,Fifteen Million British Pounds is still lying in Bank Of Scotland and no one will ever come forward to claim it.What bothers me most is that according to the laws of my country,if such funds remains unclaimed in a bank for a period of 12 years that it will revert to the ownership of the British Government.Against this backdrop,My Suggestion to you is that I will like you as a foreigner to stand as the next of kin to Engr.Gambone Michael so that you will be able to receive his funds. I want you to know that I have had everything planned out so that we shall come out successful.I will file in for claims on your behalf and secure the necessary approval and letter of probate in your favor for the move of the funds to an account that will be provided by you.There is no risk involved at all in the matter as we are going to adopt a legalized method of money transfer.The transaction will be executed under a legitimate arrangement that will Protect us from any breach of the law.Please endeavor to observe utmost discretion in all matters concerning this issue.Once the funds have been transferred to your nominated bank account the sharing ratio is open for negotiation for you.The percentage sharing will be 70%-30%,70% for me and 30% for your assistance. Should you be interested Please send me the following: 1.Your Full Names2.Your Occupation3.Your Age4.Your Contact Address5.Your Phone number6.Your Scanned copy of Identification Confirm your interest by replying and I shall provide you with more details of this Transaction.Your earliest response to this letter will be appreciated. Kind Regards, Prof.Spencer MarkBank of Scotland.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam