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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:
  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.

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:
  • "from the desk of" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "inheritance funds" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "(ecowas)" (the name of a person or institution often appearing in 419 scams)
  • "ecowas " (the name of a person or institution often appearing in 419 scams)
• This email message is a fake lottery scam. Consider the following facts about real lotteries:
  
  1. They don't notify winners by email.
  2. You can't win without first buying a lottery ticket.
  3. They don't randomly select email addresses to award prizes to.
  4. They don't use free email accounts (Yahoo, Hotmail, etc) to communicate with you.
  5. They don't tell you to call a mobile phone number.
  6. They don't tell you to keep your winnings secret.
  7. They will never ask a winner to pay any fees to receive a prize!
• 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.
  • helen.lulu@yahoo.co.uk (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: wasdc westafrica <wasdc-westafrica@hotmail.fr>
Reply-To: <helen.lulu@yahoo.co.uk>
Date: Sat, 14 Jul 2007 22:12:06 +0000
Subject: ATTENTION SIR



WEST AFRICAN SECURITY & DEFENCE COUNCIL BENIN INVESTIGATION DEPARTMENT 'LID' FUNDS' FINAL CLEARANCE AUTHORITY 158, MARTINS WILLY WAY , 234 ARENATOWERS 1102E PORTI-NOV. FROM THE DESK OF: HONORABLE HELEN LULUHEAD; FINANCIAL AUDITS & INVESTIGATION DEPT.Email :( helen.lulu@yahoo.co.uk) Our ref: GL-GWAS-005-31 ATTENTION SIR, LEGALL ENTITLED BENEFICIARY OF FUNDSPayment Clearance Order No: ESDC/BL.ERXX/USD25MM/YBZ/2007. RE: BSDC APPROVED OFFICIAL PROCEDURES FOR FINAL RELEASE OF FUNDS. In view of the recent G8 meeting and several Financial Summit organised by the ECOWAS h in conjunction with the International Monetary Fund ( ), ECOWAS Investigation Department, West African Union, Economic Commission for Ecowas , African Union Financial Regulatory Office (AUFRO) and all other related International Financial Communities regarding the issue of maintaining standard Financial Stability and Legitimacy of Funds Movement across all continents of the world. I am Honourable Dr.Frank James. Head of Investigation Department (ECOWAS). Read Carefully: With the high rate of money laundry and terrorist activities/fund has prompt the BC Government, West African Union, Benin finance office, M15, Benin Metropolitan Police and the Togolese Yard money Laundry crime elite to investigation numerous fund coming Via African Countries, Middle East, Asian and Latin America into British and Ecowas Union Banks This excise has been going on for the past 1 Years and with year’s mouth and weeks of head hit investigation. We have Finally discover that some of these deposited funds are genuine and originated from the Right Sources .Such as Contracts Payment, Inheritance Claim and above it all Lottery Winning Claims For this reason the BC Government has decided to up hold its Public/international Recognition and influence by Instructing that the said beneficiary’s entire Fund be paid to them in full with all accumulated interest and from the records of outstanding payment your name was discovered as next on the list of the outstanding Payment Beneficiary who have not yet received their Contract/Contractor Payments, Inheritance funds and Lottery Winning Prize Award fund Based on the finding in this investigation Department we wish to inform you that your payment is being process and it will be released to you as soon as you respond to this letter. Please re-confirm to me if this is Online with what you have in your record and also re-confirm to me the followings. (1) Your full name. (2) Phone, fax and mobile (3) Company's name, position and address (4) Profession, age and marital status. (5) A photo copy of your international Passport, Drives license or ID card Note that the only office/paying bank that have right to pay or to contact you in respect to the collection of your funds will be giving to you by this office. And we wish to warn you against some impostors. As we have been informed that some impostors are contacting people in respect to the collection of their funds that was long approved in their favour. As we have been on this investigation assignment for some time, cuddly to the top government official who Are in support to this investigation team to help stop fraudulent activities in the world. We apologize on behalf of our government for any delay and lost this must have coursed you. We promise that such thing will not happen again. Finally, we are expecting to hear from you today. Thanks for your understanding, HONORABLE HELEN LULUHEAD; FINANCIAL AUDITS & INVESTIGATION DEPT.Email :( helen.lulu@yahoo.co.uk)
_________________________________________________________________
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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam