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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:
  • "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. )
  • "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)
  • "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)
• 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.
  • @rocketmail.com

Fraud email example:

From: (sent from abused email account)
Reply-To: john_paul_stew00@live.fr
Date: Wed, 29 Oct 2008 18:07:38 +0800 (CST)
Subject: Dear Good Day,


Dear Good Day,

I make this appeal with the understanding that any facts or opinion expressed by me are giving in confidence and solely for your personal information and use. I am Mr John Paul Stew Auditing and exchange Staff at the foreign remittance Unit of my Bank.

However, I am contacting you in order to ask for your assistance on this confidential business proposal with full financial benefit for both I and you. 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 deal. Therefore I will appreciate the same attitude to be maintained by you all through.

In my department I discovered an abandoned sum of US$7.5 Million Dollars,(Seven Million,Five Hundered thousand US Dollars) with account number 14-2558-59764 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.


The owner of this account is Mr. Morris Thompson an American and great industrialist and a 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. As next of kin and You have to follow the instruction which I will be sending to you as the next of kin or relation 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 40% of the total sum. 5% for contingencies (cost of transfer/other charges) likely to be incurred during the course of transaction, while the remaining 55% 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.

I will not fail to bring to your notice that this transaction is hitch-free and that you should not entertain any fear as all required arrangements have been made for the transfer.

I would like you to forward me the following informations,

1) YOUR FULL NAMES..
2) COUNTRY OF ORGINA...
3) YOUR ADDRESS........
4) YOUR DIRECT CONTACT NUMBER....
5) OCCUPATION............
6) your AGE SEX
7) your PASSPORT COPY

You should contact me immediately you finish reading this mail via e-mail:(john_paul_stew00@live.fr )

Yours Faithfully,

Mr John Paul Stew





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Kini anda boleh @ymail.com dan @rocketmail.com.

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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam