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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
  (+225 +229 +234 +27 +31 +32 +34 +44 other)
• Company names mentioned in 419 spam:
  1 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
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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)
  • "dear friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
• 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.
  • +27732251470 (South Africa, prepaid mobile phone)
  • +27866301271 (South Africa, prepaid mobile phone)

Fraud email example:

From: t.kuma102@hotmail.com
Date: Tue, 02 Jan 2007 17:33:32 +0200
Subject: US$10 Million Business Proposal.


Department of Foreign Operations,
JHB, South Africa.
Tel/fax: +27866301271


Dear Sir/Madam,



Good day!! I can't imagine how you will feel receiving a sudden business letter from a remote country in far away South Africa and probably from some one you have not closely related with. But all the same, I believe we do not need to be of blood relatives before we can establish cordial/business relationship.
Having said this, I think it is very important at this juncture to introduce myself to you and also disclose to you, how I came in contact with your email address/profile. My name is. Mr. TAIWO KUMA I am the district Foreign operations) manager of commercial bank here in South
Africa. I got your email address/profile from the Internet when I was in search for reliable and competent person to handle this matter for our future benefits.
So it is my pleasure to solicit your assistance in a very confidential business proposal. I am contacting you because I do not want to transact the business with anybody who is known to any staff of this bank or anybody around here to avoid any possible blackmail or leakage at the end of the transaction.
HERE IS THE PROPOSAL:
There is an account in this bank, which was opened in 1992 by one Mr. Marc Angers, an Australian National, who worked with South Africa Department of Mining & Natural Resources and since 1999 nobody has operated on this account. I had a very careful study of the account files through which I carried an extensive investigation about the holder of the said account and found out that Mr. Marc Angers suddenly died in a plane crash in 1996 thereby abandoning the account, having been fictitious regards the information submitted to this bank at the time of opening the account.


The account at this moment has no beneficiary since the name Mr. Marc filled, as his next of kin has no contact information in the form he submitted to the bank. I have secretly removed all the relevant files to the account from the dormant section so that bank auditors will not verify the abandoned money and refer it to Federal Treasury via South Africa reserve bank’. Credit balance of the said account is US$10 Million (Ten million, United States Dollars)


My Dear Friend, the deal here is that the money in this account will be approved and remitted to any foreigner who shows up as next of kin to
Mr. Marc provided such person has correct information to the account. I have such needed information and will hand it over to you as soon as we commence the transaction. I will source all necessary documents and forward them to you for direct submission to the bank. With my position as the foreign operations manager, we will quietly remove this money from the bank without hitches.
I don't have any problem in regularizing all necessary documents and transferring of the credit balance of the said account to your yet to nominated overseas bank account, but the problem is sincerity and trust. I have spent months in trying to get an overseas reliable contact. It is worthy to note that people are unreliable these days and even derive joy in telling lies.
On this ground I request your unreserved but sincere cooperation devoid of greed in carrying out this transaction so that no one amongst both of us shall defraud each other at the end. I am prepared to split the fund at 60%---40% for you, provided that mine (60%) will be intact at the end. Please get back to me via the above email account as a matter of urgency or call me on my private telephone line (+27-732-251-470) awaits your cooperation.
Best regards,
MR. TAIWO KUMA .

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam