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:
- "western union" (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 send money by Western Union or MoneyGram to people you do not know personally - NO EXCEPTIONS! Instant wire transfer services are not meant to be used with strangers because they offer no protection against fraud. That is precisely why the criminals want you send money that way. )
- "money gram" (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 send money by Western Union or MoneyGram to people you do not know personally - NO EXCEPTIONS! Instant wire transfer services are not meant to be used with strangers because they offer no protection against fraud. That is precisely why the criminals want you send money that way. )
- "mtcn" (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 send money by Western Union or MoneyGram to people you do not know personally - NO EXCEPTIONS! Instant wire transfer services are not meant to be used with strangers because they offer no protection against fraud. That is precisely why the criminals want you send money that way. )
- "foreign exchange" (Banks mentioned in 419 scams are always fake (real banks don't communicate using mobile phones or free webmail addresses))
- "cotonou" (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.
Western Union money transfer is completely untraceable and therefore is *not* safe to use with anyone you do not know personally. It is the preferred method of online criminals to collect money from their victims.

Fraud email example:

From: "Foreign Remittance (Bank Of America)" <info.atmremittancedepartm@gmail.com>
Reply-To: info.remittancedepatm@yandex.com
Date: Wed, 27 Mar 2013 15:26:08 +0100
Subject: Your funds will be transfer from the stated dollars account to your
destination bank.

<http://www.google.fr/imgres?imgurl=http://topnews.net.nz/images/Bank-Of-America-Logo.jpg&imgrefurl=http://topnews.net.nz/content/22972-boa-investors-turn-against-director-s-re-election&usg=__WNE2VHR1qp2uMZRuCl3D1_Z6wps=&h=240&w=320&sz=86&hl=en&start=13&zoom=1&tbnid=HLEpSRGdnwS6YM:&tbnh=89&tbnw=118&ei=XUevUPjNJse5hAf8iIH4AQ&itbs=1>

*BANK OF AMERICA*
*Address:* *100 North Tryon Street, Charlotte, North Carolina***
*

Dear Sir,

First and foremost, this office wants to use this medium to extend their
warmest greeting to you for having the courage to endure up till this
moment because of the attitude of the unscrupulous elements who has created
a very bad reputation for the society.

Subsequent to the telex transmission advice we received, this further
indicates and granted that your funds will be transfer from the stated
dollars account to your destination bank account. Please try all you can to
reconfirm us your bank account so that To receive your funds, you must open
an account with us to deposit your money .the minimum that would open this
account is $39 to cover the transfer made on the spot. This is in contrast
to other financial markets to take full advantage of the best exchange
rates as the market fluctuates so you will never put on hold or have to
negotiate currencies rates or pay any foreign exchange fees.

Please you have to send it today so that we can get things done without any
further delay again. Below is the details to send the money by Western
Union or money gram Only with the name of our accountant:

Receives Name:--------Ifeanyi Chukwu John
Country:--------- Benin Republic
City/state:--------- Cotonou.
Question:--------- What Color?
Answer:-------- -Blue
Amount:--------- $39
MTCN:---------

As soon as you send the fee, try to forward us the payment details today so
that we can proceed without any delay again. After you pay the opening of
account fee and your new account is activated and authorized for use than
we will wire the transfer as you wish. Please send us your full contact
information. N/B: Please dont forget to sebd us your full account details
this morning so that we can proceed immediately.
<http://www.google.fr/imgres?imgurl=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/money/galleries/2008/fortune/0806/gallery.G500_biggest_profits.fortune/images/bank_of_america_logo.jc.jpg&imgrefurl=http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2008/fortune/0806/gallery.G500_biggest_profits.fortune/13.html&usg=__EK7ape3HI66bs42LFXqCVCXxqTI=&h=262&w=340&sz=22&hl=en&start=19&zoom=1&tbnid=RmoGT1MKD9Ad_M:&tbnh=92&tbnw=119&ei=XUevUPjNJse5hAf8iIH4AQ&itbs=1>

Waiting to hear from you soon.
Thank you ,
<http://www.google.fr/imgres?imgurl=http://www.texasbar.com/AM/Images/DirectoryInformation-Images/Image-ContactID-153484.JPG&imgrefurl=http://www.texasbar.com/Attorneys/member.cfm%3Fid%3D153484&usg=__DeoZDR1TsLFP7-PKHf2vEe_b_YI=&h=2560&w=1920&sz=809&hl=en&start=9&zoom=1&tbnid=BJ1QG5shm3tV3M:&tbnh=150&tbnw=113&ei=vkevUJbFFtS1hAf7x4CoDQ&itbs=1>

Dr. Eric Lee
Senior manager, Foreign Remittance (Bank Of America)
*

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam