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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
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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:
  • "cost of transfer" (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. )
  • "hundred thousand us 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)
  • "contact me immediately" (scammers rush victims so they don't have time to think properly)
  • "confidential business" (scammers urge victims to keep the transaction secret because they don't want anyone to point out to them that it is a scam)
  • "chambers" (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
  • "foreign remittance department" (Banks mentioned in 419 scams are always fake (real banks don't communicate using mobile phones or free webmail addresses))
• This email message is a next of kin scam.
• 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.
  • melo_ibrahim45@yahoo.fr (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "melo ibrahim" <meloibrahim10@gmail.com>
Reply-To: meloibrahimxx@inbox.com
Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2008 03:52:07 +0200
Subject: CONSIDER MY URGENT REQUEST


CONSIDER MY URGENT REQUEST

Good Day My Dear,

I am sorry to encroach into your privacy in this manner, I found you listed
in the Trade Centre Chambers of Commerce directory here in Burkina Faso .
Please do accept my sincere apologies if my mail does not meet your
personal ethics, I am Dr.Melo Ibrahim.

The manager of bill and exchange at the foreign remittance department of my
Bank.
I am writing you for the second time since you did not reply to me at first
email sent to you. However, I am contacting you in order to ask for your
assistance on this confidential business proposal with full financial
benefit for both of us.
Before I go into further details, please be informed that I am writing
without any other person(s) pre-knowledge of my contacting you on this
transaction. Therefore I will appreciate same attitude to be maintained by
you all through.
In my department I discovered an abandoned sum of US$8.5M, (Eight Million,
Five Hundred Thousand US Dollars) with account number 14-2558-5976 that
belongs to one of our foreign customers who died along with his wife and
only daughter in a plane crash of Alaska Airlines Flight number 261 which
crashed on January 31st 2000. You shall read more about the crash on
visiting this site. http://www.cnn.com/2000/US/02/01/alaska.airlines.list/

The owner of this account is Mr. Morris Thompson an American and great
industrialist in resident of Alaska . It is therefore upon this discovery
that I now decided to make this business proposal to you and for our bank to
release the money to you. You have to follow the instruction which I will be
sending to you as the next of kin or business partner to the deceased for
safety and subsequent disbursement since nobody is coming for it and I don't
want this money to go into our bank treasury as unclaimed bill.
In appreciation of your assistance, I am offering you 35% of the total sum.
5% for contingencies (cost of transfer/other charges) likely to be incurred
during the course of transaction, while the remaining 60% is for me. Upon
receipt of your reply, I will send to you by fax or email the text of the
application which you will complete and forward to our bank asking for this
money to be paid to you as the next of kin to Mr. Morris Thompson.
This transaction is totally free of risk and troubles as the fund is
legitimate and does not originate from drug, money laundry, terrorism or any
other illegal act. You should contact me immediately you finish reading this
mail with the following information's.

1) Your office and home addresses
2) Your Occupation........
3) Your Age..........
4) Your Private Telephone number.........
5) Your Nationality.........

When you reply this message, I will send you the tex of application. If
interested or not please notify me by replying through my alternate Email :
melo_ibrahim45@yahoo.fr

Bill and Exchange dept in Bank of Africa
Ouagadougou Burkina Faso.
Yours Faithfully,
Dr.Melo Ibrahim.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam