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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

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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 friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "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)
  • "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.

Fraud email example:

From: "wahibu mousa" <wabu09@fastwebmail.it>
Reply-To: wabue0123@voila.fr
Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2008 06:52:08 +0000
Subject: FROM MR . WAHIBU MOUSA.


*FROM MR . WAHIBU MOUSA.*
**
*Group Bank of Africa, *
* wabue0123@voila.fr<http://us.mc453.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=wabue0123@voila.fr>
*
*The Head Of File And Auditing Department,
Bank Of Africa (B.O.A).
**Ouagadougou Burkina-Faso**( **West Africa**).*
* *
* *
* REMITTANCE OF (US$18.7. Million) CONFIDENTIAL IS THE CASE.*

Dear Friend, I am the manager of bill and exchange at the foreign
remittance department in the Bank Of Africa (B.O.A). In my department we
discovered an abandoned sum of US$30m dollars (EIGHTEEN MILLION EVEN HUNDRED
THOUSAND US DOLLARS) in an account that belongs to one of our foreign
customer (DR GEORGE W BRUMLEY FROM ATLANTA UNITED STATES OF AMERICA) who
died along with his entire family on (Monday 21st July 2003) in a plane
crash. FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT THIS SITE BELOW :
http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/africa/07/20/kenya.crash.
Since we got information about his death, we have been expecting his next
of kin to come over and claim his money because we cannot release it unless
some body applies for it as next of kin or relation to the deceased as
indicated in our banking gildings and laws but unfortunately we learnt that
all his supposed next of kin or relation died alongside with him at the
plane crash leaving nobody behind for the claim.
It is therefore upon this discovery that I now decided to make this
business proposal to you and release the money to you as the next of kin or
relation to the deceased for safety and subsequent disbursement since nobody
is coming for it and we don't want this money to go into the bank treasury
as unclaimed bill.

The banking law and guideline here stipulates that if such money remained
unclaimed after 7 years, the money will be transferred into the bank
treasury as unclaimed fund. The request of foreigner as next of kin in
this business is occasioned by the fact that the customer was a foreigner
and a Burkinabe cannot stand as next of kin to a foreigner. I agree that
40% of this money will be for you as a respect to the provision of a foreign
account , 10% will be set aside for expenses incurred during the business
and 50% would be for me Thereafter, I will visit your country for
disbursement according to the percentage indicated Therefore, to enable the
immediate transfer of this fund to you arranged, you must apply first to the
bank as relation or next of kin of the deceased indicating your bank name,
your bank account number, your private telephone and fax number for easy and
effective communication and location where in the money will be remitted.

Upon receipt of your reply, I will send to you by fax or email the text of
the application .I will not fail to bring to your notice that this
transaction is hitch-free and you should not entertain any atom of fear as
all required arrangements have been made for the transfer.
* ** ***<http://images.google.com.ng/imgres?imgurl=http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~modelun/modelun.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~modelun/Committee/bank.htm&h=700&w=850&sz=117&hl=en&start=16&tbnid=DTUBryn7BmEgAM:&tbnh=119&tbnw=145&prev=/images%3Fq%3DWORLD%2BBANK%26gbv%3D2%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den>
You
should contact me immediately as soon as you receive this letter. Trusting
to hear from you immediately.
Yours Faithfully,
MR. WAHIBU MOUSA.
BILL AND EXCHANGE MANAGER BANK OF AFRICA( B.O.A).

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam