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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
• Support our efforts to stop scams!
  
• How to report 419 spam to us
• What can you do when you receive 419 spam
  
  
• Spam archive, Daily index
  

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:

• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "dear friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "will come to you as a surprise" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "urgent assistance" (scammers rush victims so they don't have time to think properly)
  • "top secret" (scammers urge victims to keep the transaction secret because they don't want anyone to point out to them that it is a scam)
• This email message is a next of kin scam.

Fraud email example:

From: Emmanuel Benedo <emma_benedo23@hotmail.com>
Date: Wed, 2 Jan 2008 22:07:31 +0000
Subject: Contact me for more details urgently



DEAR FRIEND, I KNOW THAT THIS MAIL WILL COME TO YOU AS A SURPRISE AS WE HAVE NEVER MET BEFORE, BUT NEED NOT TO WORRY AS I AM USING THE ONLY SECURED AND CONFIDENTIAL MEDIUM AVAILABLE TO SEEK FOR YOUR FOREIGN ASSISTANCE IN A BUSINESS. I AM CONTACTING YOU INDEPENDENTLY OF MY INVESTIGATION AND NO ONE IS INFORMED OF THIS COMMUNICATION. I NEED YOUR URGENT ASSISTANCE IN TRANSFERRING THE SUM OF ($15.6M US DOLLARS) IMMEDIATELY TO YOUR PRIVATE ACCOUNT. THE MONEY HAS BEEN HERE IN OUR BANK LYING DORMANT FOR MORE THAN SIX YEARS NOW WITHOUT ANYBODY COMING FOR THE CLAIM OF IT. I WANT TO RELEASE THE MONEY TO YOU AS THE NEAREST PERSON TO OUR DECEASED CUSTOMER (THE ACCOUNT OWNER) WHO DIED A LONG WITH HIS SUPPOSED NEXT OF KIN SINCE NOVEMBER 2002.THE BANKING ETHICS HERE DOES NOT ALLOW SUCH MONEY TO STAY MORE THAN 6 YEARS, BECAUSE THE MONEY WILL BE RECALLED TO THE BANK TREASURY AS UNCLAIMED FUND. UPON RECEIPT OF YOUR REPLY, INDICATING YOUR INTEREST IN THIS TRANSACTION, I WILL SEND YOU FULL DETAILS ON HOW THE BUSINESS WILL BE EXECUTED. PLEASE KEEP THIS PROPOSAL AS A TOP SECRET AND DELETE IF YOU ARE NOT INTERESTED.REGARDS, EMMA BENEDO.
_________________________________________________________________
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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam