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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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• What can you do when you receive 419 spam
  
  
• Spam archive, Daily index
  

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:
  • "abidjan" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
  • "remain blessed" (scammers in West Africa like to use religious phrases)
• This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
  

Fraud email example:

From: (sent from abused email account)
Reply-To: helensaka@hotmail.com
Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2008 10:57:09 +0000
Subject: From Miss Helen.


>From Miss Helen.
El Bethel Church
51 Cocody Crescents.
Cote D Ivoire.

Good day! I am Helen Saka the daughter of assassinated Senator Robert Saka
and formerly a medical student of the university of Harare Zimbabwe.
Presently I am in Abidjan, capital city of Ivory Coast in West Africa, for
the past two months now. My mother was also shot and killed by soldiers at
Chiwetu Rest Camp. For more verification here is the web site.

Www.allafrica.com/stories/200805010665.html

Before the death of my father, he has (4.5 Million USD) four million, five
hundred thousand dollars in a fixed deposit account in cote d Ivoire; which
I am the next of kin. I humbly need your assistance to help get this money
transferred to your account, to serve as my guardian and to make an
arrangement for me to come over after the fund is transferred, also to look
for a good venture where the money will be invested.

I urgently need you to assist me because when I went to the bank to make
some withdrawals to take care of my needs. I was told that my father had an
agreement with them that I must be 25 years old before I could be allowed to
make use of the money or alternatively I should provide a guardian who can
make the claim on my behalf.

If you are willing to help me kindly get back to me. Please do keep this to
your self; I am willing to offer you 20% of the total sum as compensation of
your effort.

Remain blessed,
Helen.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam