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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
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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)
  • "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. )
  • "greater london" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "million 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)
• This email message is a next of kin scam.

Fraud email example:

From: "Dr. Hanks Smith" <sdr.hanks@yahoo.com>
Reply-To: dr_hanks_sm@yahoo.com
Date: Thu, 4 Sep 2008 19:29:04 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: URGENT RESPONSE NEEDED


Dear Friend
How are you today? i hope fine,
I am Dr.Hanks Smith From Harlsden, North West London , here in England. I w=
ork for Natwest Bank Corporation London. I am writing you from my office . =
In my department,being the assistant manager (Greater London Regional Offic=
e), I discovered an abandoned sum of $12.5 million USA Dollars (Twelve mill=
ion five hundred thousand Usa Dollars) in an account that belongs to one of=
our foreign customers Late Mr.Thompson Morrison American citizen who unfor=
tunately lost his life in the plane crash of Alaska Airlines Flight 261 whi=
ch crashed on January 31 2000, including his wife and only daughter.=20
=A0
Click to view details of the crash
http://www.cnn.com/2000/US/02/01/alaska.airlines.list/.
=A0
The choice of contacting you is aroused from the geographical nature of whe=
re you live, particularly due to the sensivity of the transaction.and the c=
onfidentiality herein. Now our bank has been waiting for any of the relativ=
es to come-up for the claim but nobody has done that.I personally has been =
unsuccessful in locating the relatives for 2 years now, I seek your consent=
to present you as the next of kin /Will Beneficiary to the deceased so tha=
t the proceeds of this account valued at 12.5 Million Dollars can be paid t=
o you.=20
This will be disbursed or shared in these percentages,60% to me and 40% to =
you. I have secured all necessary legal documents that can be used to back =
up this claim we are making. All i need is to fill in your names to the duc=
uments and legalise it in the court here to prove you as the legitimate ben=
eficiary. All I need now is your honest Co-operation,Confidentiality and Tr=
ust to enable us see this transaction through. I guarantee you that this wi=
ll be executed under a legitimate arrangement that
will protect you from any breach of the law.=20
Please,provide me the following: as we have 5 days to run it through. this =
is very very URGENT PLEASE.=20
1. Full Name=20
2. Your Telephone Number=20
3. Your Contact Address.=20
Having gone through a methodical search, I decided to contact you hoping th=
at you will find this proposal interesting. Please on your confirmation of =
this message and indicating your interest will furnish you with more inform=
ation. Endeavour to let me know your decision rather than keep me waiting.
Regards,
Dr.Hanks Smith
=0A=0A=0A

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam