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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

• About the 419 (Advance Fee) scam
• "Is that email a scam?" - Check it online here!
  
• 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:
  • "dear sir/madam" (a standard Nigerian greeting phrase)
  • "million 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)
  • "sani abacha" (the name of a person or institution often appearing in 419 scams)
• This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
  

Fraud email example:

From: "Adams Hanson" <hansonadams@hotmail.com>
Reply-To: adamschukwuka@hotmail.com
Date: Tue, 12 Sep 2006 10:23:04 +0100
Subject: Private to you.

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am Adams C Hanson, an Accountant with a Bank here in Accra, Ghana. There
is a fixed deposit of USD150,000,000.00 (One Hundred and Fifty Million
United States Dollars) made to this bank since 1994. Since then no claims or
withdrawal has been made on the deposit.

Fortunately, I have been the person working the interest from the day of
deposit to date. The interesting part of it is that the fixed deposit
belongs to the late Nigerian Dictator General Sani Abacha, this means that
the account may have been abandoned by the surviving family members or that
they are not even aware of the existence of the deposit.

However, I concluded updating the interest of the deposit this January 2006,
and it has come up to USD15,000,000.00. I am interested in the Interest
because, I know very well that the family will care less on what happens to
the interest if they want to redeem the deposit, they will be interested on
the principal, that is if they are able to claim it at all because all the
money lodged into different Banks in Europe and United States are now been
claimed by the Nigerian Government. I will give you the details of
procedures and amount to withdraw will be our mutual agreement to avoid any
misunderstanding. We have nothing to lose, we only need courage to do this.

Sincerely,
Adams Hanson

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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam