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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:

• 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)
  • "i will like you to " (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "a security company " (this will cost you money - that's what the scam is about)
  • "trunk box" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "trunk boxes" (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)
  • "your urgent reply" (they are rushing you so you don't have time to think properly)
• 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.
  • +447030402578 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)
• 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.
  • marlex_2005net@mixmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "marvin Alex" <marlex_2005net@mixmail.com>
Date: Mon, 15 May 2006 08:55:09 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Attention Please


Philippine National Bank PLC
Old Change House/128 Queen Victoria St,
City of London, London, EC4V 4BJ
United Kingdom
Telephone: 44 2070992116 / +44 7030402578

Dear Friend,

I am Mr. Marvin Alex operation Manager of Philippine National Bank Plc. London, I have urgent and very confidential business proposition for you. On June 6, 2000, Mr. Daniel Ramesh made a numbered time (Fixed) Deposit for forty-eight months, (being four years) valued at US$40,000,000.00, (forty Million, Dollars) in my branch.
Upon maturity, I sent a routine notification to his forwarding address but got no reply. After a month, we sent a reminder and finally we discovered from his employers, that Mr. Daniel Ramesh died from tsunami on his holidays in Thailand 26 December 2004. On further investigation, I found out that he died without making a WILL and all attempts to trace his next of kin were fruitless.

I therefore made further investigation and discovered that Mr. Daniel Ramesh did not declare any kin or relations in all his official documents, including his Bank Deposit paperwork in my Bank. This sum of US$40,000,000 has carefully been moved out of my bank to a security company for safekeeping. No one will ever come forward to claim it. According to British Law, at the expiration of (three) years, the money will revert to the ownership of the British Government if nobody applies to claim the fund.

Consequently, my proposal is that I will like you to stand in as the owner of the money I deposited it in a security company in two trunk boxes though the security company does not know the contents of the boxes as I tagged them to be photographic materials for export. I am writing you because I as a public servant (working with the bank), I cannot operate a foreign account or have an account that is more than $1m.

I want to present you as the owner of the boxes in the security company so you can be able to claim them with the help of my attorney. This is simple. I will like you to provide immediately your full names and address so that the Attorney will prepare the necessary documents which will put you in place as the owner of the boxes.
The money will be moved out for us to share in the ratio of 70% for me and 30% for you. There is no risk at all as all the paperwork for this transaction will be done by the Attorney and this will guarantees the successful execution of this transaction.
If you are interested, please reply immediately via my email address upon your response, I shall then provide you with more details and relevant documents that will help you understand the transaction.

Please observe utmost confidentiality, and rest assured that this transaction would be most profitable for both of us because I shall require your assistance to invest my share in (Buying of properties like houses, hotels and doing charity works etc)
Please do send me your private/mobile telephone fax number so that we can have a smooth communication.

Awaiting your urgent reply via my email: marlex_2005net@mixmail.com

Thanks and regards,

Mr. Marvin Alex

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam