419 Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam (2006-01)

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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:

An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
This email uses a separate reply address that is different from the sender address. Spammers use this to get replies even when the original spam sending accounts have been shut down. Also, sometimes the sender addresses are legitimate looking but fake and only the reply address is actually an email account controlled by the scammers.
The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "dear friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "from the desk of" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "western union" (this will cost you money - be careful with upfront payments to anyone you only know through email, especially if they promise you a lot of money. NEVER send money by Western Union or MoneyGram to people you do not know personally - NO EXCEPTIONS! Instant wire transfer services are not meant to be used with strangers because they offer no protection against fraud. That is precisely why the criminals want you send money that way. )
- "money-gram" (this will cost you money - be careful with upfront payments to anyone you only know through email, especially if they promise you a lot of money. NEVER send money by Western Union or MoneyGram to people you do not know personally - NO EXCEPTIONS! Instant wire transfer services are not meant to be used with strangers because they offer no protection against fraud. That is precisely why the criminals want you send money that way. )
- "cotonou" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Western Union money transfer is completely untraceable and therefore is *not* safe to use with anyone you do not know personally. It is the preferred method of online criminals to collect money from their victims.
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.
- us_ambassadbeninrepublic@hotmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: " JAMES A.KNIGHT. " <simonwilkins19@peoplepc.com>
Reply-To: " JAMES A.KNIGHT. " <us_ambassadbeninrepublic@hotmail.com>
Date: Tue, 18 Oct 2011 13:33:16 +0100 (GMT+01:00)
Subject: FROM THE DESK OF PROF. JAMES A. KNIGHT US AMBASSADOR TO BENIN
REPUBLIC

FROM THE DESK OF PROF. JAMES A. KNIGHT .
UNITED STATES AMBASSADOR TO BENIN REPUBLIC
20 EMBASSY SUIT COTONOU, REPUBLIC DU BENIN.
11 GARIKA ROAD COTONOU REPUBLIC DU BENIN .

MY.DEAR FRIEND,

I SHALL BE COMING TO THE UNITED STATES FOR AN OFFICIAL MEETING HELD ON TUESDAY 4 OCTOBER 2011 IN USA NEXT WEEK , I WANT INFORM YOU THAT YOU ARE AMONG OF THE 4 LOOKING PEOPLE WHO IS ELIGIBLE TO RECEIVED THEIR PACKAGE SIGNED BY UNITED NATIONS THIS WEEK MONDAY,

AND I WILL BE BRINGING YOUR INTEREST PAYMENT OF US$2.8M ALONG WITH ME BUT YOU KNOW THAT I WILL GO THROUGH CUSTOMS BUT AS A US AMBASSADOR TO BENIN REPUBLIC, I AM A US GOVERNMENT AGENT AND I HAVE THE VETO POWER TO GO THROUGH CUSTOMS. I AM SCHEDULED TO HAVE A BRIEFING WITH THE SECRETARY OF STATES BY SATURDAY

YOU SHOULD SEND YOUR CELL PHONE NUMBER AND THE ADDRESS WHERE YOU WANT ME TO BRING THE ATM MASTER CARD PACKAGE. YOU HAVE REALLY PAID SO MUCH AS I WAS MADE TO UNDERSTAND AND THAT IS WHY I HAVE PERSONALLY INTERVENED YOU ARE A VERY LUCKY PERSON BECAUSE I SHALL BE BRINGING IT MYSELF AND THERE IS NOTHING ANYONE CAN DO ABOUT IT.

YOUR PACKAGE (US$2.8M } MUST BE REGISTERED AS AN AMBASSADORIAL PACKAGE FOR ME TO DEFEAT ALL ODDS AND THE COST OF REGISTERING IT IS US$180.00.

BUT DUE TO YOUR FINANCIAL DISABILITIES TO COME UP WITH THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF $180, YOU WILL PAY ONLY $80 THEN THE RETURN BALANCE WILL BE PAID WHEN I ARRIVE WITH YOUR PACKAGE,

THE $80 MUST BE PAID IN THE NEXT 50 HOURS VIA WESTERN UNION OR MONEY-GRAM SO THAT ALL NECESSARY ARRANGEMENT CAN BE MADE BEFORE TIME WILL BE AGAINST US.

YOU SHOULD SEND THE FEE DIRECTLY TO THE CARGO REGISTRATION OFFICER WITH THE INFO BELOW: THROUGH WESTERNUNION MONEY TRANSFER.

NAME -------------
COUNTRY -------------COTONOU REPUBLIC DU BENIN
TEXT QUESTION ----- WHAT YEAR
TEXT ANSWER ------- 2011
AMOUNT------- $80

MY TRIP WILL BE BY MID THIS WEEK AND I EXPECT YOU TO COMPLY BEFORE THEN SO THAT THE DELIVERY CAN BE COMPLETED. IF YOU DO NOT COMPLY, THEN IT WILL NOT BE MY FAULT IF YOU DO NOT RECEIVE YOUR ATM CARD PACKAGE.

Email us_ambassadbeninrepublic@hotmail.com

TREAT AS URGENT,
JAMES A.KNIGHT.
US AMBASSADOR TO BENIN REPUBLIC

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Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam