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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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• Company names mentioned in 419 spam:
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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)
  • ",000,000" (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)
  • "00,000.00" (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)
  • "there are practically no risks involved" (almost true for the criminal - arrests of online criminals are rare)
• This email message is a next of kin scam.

Fraud email example:

From: DR STEVE ROBERT <dr_steve4robert_7@msn.com>
Reply-To: <dr.stev.robert2@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, 18 Apr 2009 20:44:09 +0000
Subject: HI



Dear Friend,



I hope this may not constitute sort of embarrassment to you, My name is Dr. sTEVE Robert, I am the regional bank manager of the Barclays Bank Ghana Ltd.



I am 51 years of age and married with 3 lovely kids. It may interest you to hear that I am a man of PEACE and INTEGRITY; I only hope we can assist each other.



I have packaged a financial transaction that will benefit both of us, as the regional Auditor General of the Barclays Bank Ghana Ltd.; it is my duty to send in a financial report to my head office in the capital city Accra at the end of each year.



On the course of last year 2008 end of year report, I discovered that my branch in which I am the manager made an excess profit of Three Million Seven Hundred And Fifty Thousand united states dollars [USd$3.750,000,000.00] which my head office are not aware of and will never be aware of.



I have since placed this fund on what we call SUSPENSE ACCOUNT without any beneficiary. As an officer of the bank I can not be directly connected to this money, this is why I,m contacting you for us to work so that you can assist me and receive this money into your bank account for us to share.



I will offer you 30% of the total amount for your assistance.Note that there are practically no risks involved in this transaction, it will be bank to bank transfer,all I need from you is to stand claim as the original depositor of this fund who made the deposit with Takoradi branch so that my Head office can order the transfer to your designated bank account.



I assure you we can achieve it successfully if you can follow my instruction and direction. In your reply, please send the following information as underlined below:



1. Your full names
2. Your phone number
3. Your nationality
4. Your Age/Sex
5. Your occupation.



Thank you for your understanding.

Best regards,
Dr. sTEVE Robert,
contact: +233245731888


I AWAITS UPON YOUR RESPOND

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam