419 Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam (2006-01)

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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

The so-called "419" scam is a type of fraud dominated by criminals from Nigeria and other countries in Africa. Victims of the scam are promised a large amount of money, such as a lottery prize, inheritance, money sitting in some bank account, etc.

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.

Keep in mind that scammers DO NOT use their real names when defrauding people.
The criminals either abuse names of real people or companies or invent names or addresses.
Any real people or companies mentioned below have NO CONNECTION to the scammers!

Read more about such scams here or in our 419 FAQ. Use the Scam-O-Matic to verify suspect emails.

Click here to report a problem with this page.

Some comments by the Scam-O-Matic about the following email:

This email uses a separate reply address that is different from the sender address. Spammers use this to get replies even when the original spam sending accounts have been shut down. Also, sometimes the sender addresses are legitimate looking but fake and only the reply address is actually an email account controlled by the scammers.
The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "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)
- "abuja" (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.
This email lists mobile phone numbers. Use of such numbers is typical for scams because they allow criminals to conceal their true location. They can receive calls in an Internet cafe from where they send you emails, while pretending to be in some office.
- +2348033354382 (Nigeria, prepaid mobile phone)

Fraud email example:

From: "Mr.Ben Kaka" <federalministry@finance.org>
Reply-To: info.federalministerfinance.nig@gmail.com
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 2009 20:13:26 -0500 (EST)
Subject: URGENT NOTIFICATION FROM FEDERAL MINISTRY OF FINANCE : ARE YOU
DEAD OR ALIVE//CALL NOW

>From :Mr. Benson N. Kaka
Federal Ministry of Finance
5th Floor,Annex 3, New Federal Secretariat
Complex, Shehu Shagari Way, Central Area Abuja Nigeria.

ATTENTION: BENEFICIARY,

My Name is Mr. Benson Kaka I'm the personal secretary to the Minister of
Finance. I'm contacting you to confirm from you if actually YOU know one
MR. JOHN WHEELER who claims to be your business associate/partner from
AMERICA.Following the protest of the International Community, The World
Bank,IMF and the instruction from THE YAR'ADUA that all outstanding
foreign DEBTS especially NTRACT /INHERITANCE PAYMENT should be released
to the BENEFICIARIES.

The said MR. JOHN WHEELER is claiming to us that you were dead and have
instructed he to make a change of ownership to your funds before your
death,there by providing this account information (BANK NAME: CITI
BANK,NEW YORK.BANK ADDRESS: NEW YORK, USA. ACCOUNT NUMBER: 6503809428.
ROUTING NUMBER:122006743 A/C NAME: MR. JOHN WHEELER) as the original
account information where the said approved $30 Million Dollars will be
remitted into.

This development is coming now that the Ministry of Finance wants to set
all outstanding payments owed to all foreign beneficiaries around the
world by this Country in which your payment file was affected. As you may
know, the total amount approved in your favor is the total sum of $30
Million Dollars. And by virtue of claim we need to confirm from you if
it's really true that MR. JOHN WHEELER is your business Associate/partner
in AMERICA and if we did not hear from you soonest it automatically means
that you are actually dead and the information passed to us by MR. JOHN
WHEELER is correct.

You are to contact me through my email address as soon as you receive
this message so as to know the true position of things with you so That we
won't make any mistake in remitting your outstanding payment to a wrong
Person/account. Your swift response will help this ministry a lot Do
email me with your Informations below:

Your Name:
Address:
Sex:
Age:
Occupation:
Your Next of Kin Name and your date of Birth:
Your Telephone/Fax number:
Driver's License/int'l Passport

Best Regards.
Mr. Benson Kaka.
secretary to Minister: Federal Ministry Of Finance(FMF).
TEL: +234-8033354382(24 hrs)

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam