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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

• About the 419 (Advance Fee) scam
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• 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:
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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:
  • "i will like you to " (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "huge amount of money" (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)
  • "hundred thousand united states dollars" (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)
  • "await your urgent response" (they are rushing you so you don't have time to think properly)
  • "power of attorney" (with your bank details and a power of attorney form criminals sometimes empty bank accounts)
  • "lagos" (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.
  
• Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.
• 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.
  • +2348039425550 (Nigeria, 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.
  • gabrielosita@excite.com

Fraud email example:

From: "GABRIEL OSITA" <gabrielosita06@hotmail.com>
Reply-To: gabrielosita3@compaqnet.fr
Date: Fri, 06 Jan 2006 10:54:49 +0000
Subject: THIS IS VERY URGENT AND CONFIDENTIAL

From: Dr. Gabriel Osita.
Senior Personal Assistant
Late First Lady (Mrs. Stella Obasanjo)
Federal republic of Nigeria.
Tel:+234-803-942-5550.
E_mail:gabrielosita@excite.com

Dearest friend,

First I will like you to take your time to go over this mail carefully and
with patience.

Please, this is a matter of urgency, this is because I need your help and I
need it very quickly too. At this stage I will like to introduce my self. I
am Dr Gabriel Osita a Senior Personal Assistant to the first lady of the
Federal republic of Nigeria who died on the 22nd, October, 2005 in a Spanish
Hospital after undergoing surgical operation.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/africalives/myafrica/blogs/005017/archive/2005/10.shtml
shortly before her death, the First Lady Chief Mrs. Stella Obasanjo gave me
a very huge amount of money to be transferred to an off-shore Security
Company abroad.

In any case the funds were successfully transferred and it is currently in a
safe deposit abroad. All the papers to legally claim the funds are with me
but safely put in a place that nobody can discover except I say so, the
amount involved in this transfer is US$12.5m (Twelve Million Five Hundred
Thousand United States Dollars). I need your urgent assistance in getting
this fund out of the Security Company before her husband begins to find a
way of recovering her funds abroad So that upon my retirement, we can
successfully invest this fund together in your country under your
supervision.

Therefore, I sincerely want your help in the area of investment
opportunities in your country. In Research, Real estate and properties,
computers and other things that will bring real returns for my investment
worth. Please, can you help me by receiving the funds as the beneficiary? I
assure you that there is no risk involved as the funds is already out of
Nigeria. All you need is just the papers to put forward before the Security
Company and the funds will be released to you promptly. These papers I am
ready to send to you and with Power of Attorney we will obtain from the
Federal High Court of Lagos as soon as I hear from you with your personal
information about your self.

Be informed that you will be compensated with 20% of the funds upon
collection if you agree to help me, and the rest we can put into business. I
await your urgent response. I will fill you in with more information when I
have heard from you. Please note, as soon as we conclude this transaction my
family and I will be coming over there to stay permanently, you will also
buy an apartment for us in your country. Please do provide me with your
telephone No's, full name and address when responding.

Thanks and God bless as I look forward to your favorable reply. You can call
me on this telephone no:+234-803-942-5550 OR send email at this alternative
email address:gabrielosita@excite.com

Yours sincerely,

Dr Gabriel Osita.
Tel:+234-803-942-5550.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam