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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.

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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)
  • "from the desk of" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "necessary legal documents" (this will cost you money - be careful with upfront payments to anyone you only know through email, especially if they promise you a lot of money. Never ever send money by Western Union or MoneyGram to people you do not know personally. )
  • "million 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)
  • "% will be for 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)
  • "barrister" (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
• This email message is a next of kin scam.
• Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.

Fraud email example:

From: "weekon peleman" <barrweekon76@telegraf.by>
Reply-To: barrweekon00@hotmail.com
Date: Fri, 23 May 2008 11:52:43 -0700
Subject: Barrister Weekon Perelman (Esq).


*From The Desk Of Barrister Weekon Perelman, *
*Weekon Legal Practitioner & Chamber.
1087 Cheang Wattana Road,Nonthanburi,
Bangkok, Thailand*

*Dear Sir/Madam, *

*Please kindly accept my apology for sending unsolicited mail to you I
believe you are a highly respected personality considering the fact that I
sourced your profile from a human resource profile database on your country.
Though, I do not know to what extent you are familiar with events. *
**
*Well, I am Barrister Weekon Perelman, a Solicitor. I am the Personal
Attorney to Mr.Steve , who used to work with SIAMRAK Company Limited in
Bangkok Thailand . *
**
*On the 21st of April 2004, his wife and their three children were involved
in a car accident along Sukhumvit Express Road. *
* *
*Unfortunately, they all lost their lives in the event of the accident.
Since then I have made several enquiries to your Embassy to locate any of my
client's relatives, this has also proved unsuccessful. After these several
unsuccessful attempts, I decided to trace his relatives over the Internet to
locate any member of his family but to no avail, hence, I contacted you to
assist in repatriating the money left behind by my client in a Bank here in
Thailand.Particularly the Bank where the deceased deposited the
US$35Million (Thirty Five Million United States Dollars only).
*
* *
*Consequently, this Bank issued me a notice to provide the Next of Kin to
claim the US$35 Million (Thirty Five Million United States Dollars only) in
their custody within the next ten official working days. Since I have been
unsuccessful in locating the relatives for over 3 years now, I seek your
consent to present you as the next of kin of the deceased to claim the fund
as the Next of Kin to him so that the fund will be transferred to your
account by the Finance House. *
* *
*Upon receipt of the fund, I will come over to your country to meet with you
for the disbursement of the fund and then you and I will share the money in
this order: 70% will be for me, 30% will be for you. I have all the
necessary legal documents that can back our claim we will make with the
Finance House. *
* *
*All I require is your honest co-operation to enable us seeing this deal
through. I guarantee that this will be executed under a legitimate
arrangement that will protect you from any breach of the law. *
**
*You are needed as a next of kin to inherit your brother left fund *
*Best regards . *
*
Barrister Weekon Perelman (Esq).*

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam