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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
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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.

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.
• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "dear sir/madam" (a standard Nigerian greeting phrase)
  • "i will like you to " (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "for your efforts, i am prepared to offer you " (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)
  • "confidentiality of this transaction" (they don't want anyone to point out to you that this is a scam)
  • "is 100% risk free" (almost true for the criminal - arrests of online criminals are rare)
  • "liberia" (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.
  
• 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.
  • stellajacob05@yahoo.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: stella jacob <stellajacob05@yahoo.com>
Date: Sat, 21 Oct 2006 10:36:00 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: From Mrs. Stella.


From: Stella Jacob.
E-Mail:stellajacob05@yahoo.com.
Address: NO 10 MOUNT WILLMER
BELLVIEW EAST, JHB R.S.A.


Dear Sir/Madam.


STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL

I know that you will be surprised to receive this message. please consider this message as a request from a family in dire need of help. I am MRS STELLA JACOB from LIBERIA; the wife of Brigadier PETER JACOB.I got your contact through the South African Information exchange {S.A.I.E} regarding your trustworthiness.

My purpose of contacting you is to help me out of my difficult condition in view of my husband's death. I need your assistance to help me to transfer some money out of South Africa into your personal or company's account. The amount involved is US$20 Million Dollars.

My late husband was in charge of arms purchasing for LIBERIA arms forces and he generated this money in the course of purchasing arms for LIBERIA armed forces. He deposited this money with a private security company here in south Africa in cash and i assure you that nobody knows about this money except my two sons and me. All I am asking you is to assist us to transfer this money out of South Africa for investment purposes.

The reason being that I and my two sons are living in South Africa as political asylum seekers and the financial laws of south Africa do not allow asylum seekers certain financial rights, hence I shall be very grateful if you can assist us. For your efforts, I am prepared to offer you 35% of the total money while 5% will be set aside for local and international expenses incurred during the course of this transaction. As soon as you get this message, please reply this immediately Please the assurance i will always give you is that this transaction is 100% risk free, as I do not want anything to happen to this money.

Finally, if you are not interested, I will like you to always keep the confidentiality of this transaction.
Best regards,

Mrs. Stella Jacob.




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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam