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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

• About the 419 (Advance Fee) scam
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• 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:
  • "from the desk of" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "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)
  • "transaction is risk free" (almost true for the criminal - arrests of online criminals are rare)
  • "liberia" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
• This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
  

Fraud email example:

From: "Kennedy Adams" <kenadams47@gmail.com>
Reply-To: kenadams212@yahoo.com
Date: Tue, 15 Jul 2008 18:27:58 +0530
Subject: From Mr. Kennedy


From the Desk of Mr. Kennedy Adams.





Dear Sir,
I am Kennedy Adams. I hail from the republic of Ghana , 47years old married
and the Deputy Director of Transcredex Trust & ClearingHouse Ltd. in Ghana.
I got your information and credibility from a reliable source and I decided
to contact you believing that by the grace of God, that you will not
disappoint me over this deal. I have been working with this company for over
ten years. Within this period, I have watched with meticulous precision how
African Head of State, Ministers and government functionaries have being
using Transcredex Trust & ClearingHouse to move huge sums of money {CASH} to
their foreign partners. They bring in these consignments of funds and
secretly declare the contents as FAMILY TREASURE.


Laurent Kabila of Zaire {Dead}, Foday Sanko of Sierra Leone {Dead}, Charles
Taylor of Liberia, Prince Johnson of Liberia {Dead}, Gnasingbe Eyademah of
Togo {Dead} Etc. All of these people have consignments deposited with my
office. Their foreign partners are claiming most of these consignments. Some
are lying down here in the company vault unclaimed as much as {9} years,
nobody have ever come for them because in most cases, the documents of the
deposit are never available to anybody except the depositors, where most of
them are dead.


Since the inception of 2000, Transcredex Trust & ClearingHouse Management
changes the procedure of claims of consignment. As soon as you are able to
produce all the secret information as contained in the secret file of any
consignment, it will be released to you upon demand from our record. I have
finalized every arrangement for you to come and claim consignment No.408
containing {$36M} Thirty-Six Million United States Dollars, My duty is to
supply you with all the information and documents by fax or e-mail and you
will send it by attachment to the management of our company.


The procedure is simple; I will use your name, address and passport number
to change the original document in the file. I assure you that this
transaction is risk free. I am contacting you because of the need to involve
a foreigner and I need your full co-operation to make this work successful.
Our mode of sharing is 50-50 or we use the fund for profitable business you
desire in your country. Please reach me by email and I will direct you on
what to do.
Yours Sincerely,
Kennedy Adams

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam