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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

• About the 419 (Advance Fee) scam
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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:
  • "from the desk of" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
• This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
  
• 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.
  • william_ntb10@yahoo.co.uk (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "williammorris1" <williammorris1@terra.com.mx>
Date: Mon, 3 Jul 2006 21:51:55 -0600
Subject: URGENT REPLY NEEDED FROM YOU.


NATWEST BANK PLC.
NATWEST BANK PLC
ST. THOMAS HOSPITAL
LAMBETH PALACE RD
LONDON
SE1 7EH

FROM THE DESK OF :WILLIAM MORIS

Compliments of the season,
Before proceeding, I wish to introduce myself to you; I am William Moris a staff of Natwest Bank plc London.I am the head of the accounts department.
I am pleased to get across to you for a very urgent and profitable business proposal which I believe will profit the both of us after completion. I contacted you after a careful thought that you might be capable of handling this business transaction, which I explained below.

The sum of £12,500,000.00 has been floating as unclaimed since 2000 in my bank as all efforts to get across to the his relatives of our client who deposited the money have hit the stones.
Mr. Andreas Schranner died of a heart failure here in london.

All attempts to trace his next of kin were fruitless. My position here at my office requiries me to investigate and I therefore made further investigations and discovered that Mr. Andreas Schranner did not declare any next of kin or relation in all his official documents,including his bank deposit paperwork in my bank.

According to the British Law, the money will revert to the ownership of the British government if nobody applies to claim the fund. To avoid this money being sent to the British treasury as unclaimed funds, I have decided to seek your assistance to have you stand as his next of kin so that the said fund (£12.5m) would be released in your name as the next of kin and paid into your account. All documents and proof that will have you claim this fund without stress will be forwarded to you upon your response to this mail more so, I want to inform you that I have unanimously agreed to offer you (£4m) of the total sum for the assistance and role you are going to play in this transaction, (£2m) will be given to charity organizations in your country with your supervision while the remaining will be for me and my other loyal collegues here.

Please send your confidential telephone and fax number in your reply to this business transaction.
PLEASE CHANNEL YOUR RESPONSE TO : william_ntb10@yahoo.co.uk

Thank you very much.

God bless you,
William Moris.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam