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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

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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 sir/madam" (a standard Nigerian greeting phrase)
  • "a security company " (this will cost you money - that's what the scam is about)
  • "may come to you as a surprise" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "hundred thousand 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)
  • "is 100% risk free" (almost true for the criminal - arrests of online criminals are rare)
  • "his direct line" (i.e. "call me on my cellphone at the Internet cafe where we scammers hang out")
• This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
  
• 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.
  • +27783936552 (South Africa, prepaid mobile phone)
• 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.
  • rebbeccagarang@yahoo.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: rebbeccagarang@UnionPlus.net
Date: Mon, 26 Feb 2007 12:44:59 -0800
Subject: A Widow's Desperate Cry for Help!!

Mrs. Rebecca Garang
25, Smith Street, Darfur Southern Sudan
Sudan.
Email: rebbeccagarang@yahoo.com

A Widow's Desperate Cry for Help.

Dear sir/madam,

This message may come to you as a surprise, but be assured it is in good faith from a widow in need. I am MRS. REBECCA GARANG the wife of late vice president of SUDAN, DR JOHN GARANG who happens to be the former rebel leader of THE SUDAN PEOPLE LIBERATION MOVEMENT (SPLM). My husband died on Saturday 30th of July 2005 on a sabotaged helicopter crash just three weeks after his inauguration on the 9th of July in our capital (KHARTOUM) may his gentle soul rest in peace.

I got your contact through SOUTHN AFRICAN BUSINESS NETWORK though I did not disclose the nature of the business to them during the process of searching for a reliable individual/company who can assist my family in transferring the sum ofUS$20.6 Million (Twenty Million Six Hundred Thousand United States Dollars only) in a private company account overseas for safe keeping/investment hence I decide to write you.

Originally the money was mapped out to procure arms and ammunitions for the SPLM military wing and my husband was solely in charge of organizing this purchase. Unfortunately, as the news of the peace agreement breached my husband while he was still in South Africa to make the arms procurement, he used the opportunity to divert this money for our family future use. He was fortunate to be in South Africa when the news came and he deposited this money in a sealed consignment (CASH) as a family valuable for security reasons in a sealed metal box containing the fund with a security company in South Africa.

After depositing the money he came back and notified me and my son (JEFFERY MABIOR GARANG) about the money, he also handed over the documents to us before he was inaugurated along with other top SPLM officials, the cabinet of the incumbent president OMAR AL BASHIR who has denied any government involvement in masterminding the death of my beloved husband.

As a family we have agreed to offer you 20% of the total sum of money for your assistance 5% has been mapped out for both local and international expenses that will be incurred by both of us in the course of this transfer and the remaining 75%will be for my family investment in your country through your advice.

You have to understand that continuous existence of my family depends on this fund. That is why I have taken the responsibility of making this initial contact for my family. Therefore on acceptance of this proposal you can contact my son JEFFERY MABIOR GARANG who is currently residing in South Africa as a political asylum his direct line + 27 783 936 552 or the above email address for more details on this transaction.

Every plan concerning this transaction has been completed. I am assuring you that this transaction is 100% risk free but requires absolute trust and confidentiality.

Yours faithfully

MRS REBECCA GARANG
For the family

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam