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:

An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
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:
- "clearance certificate" (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. )
- "clearance certificate" (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. )
- "million us 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)
- ",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)
- "cotonou" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
- "cashier's check" (Beware of any scheme that involves cashing checks or money orders and then wiring a portion of the funds somewhere - you'll be liable for the entire amount if the checks or money orders turn out to be fake, even after you have received and forwarded cash. If it's a lottery prize, remember that real lotteries do not pay large prizes by check. They wire the money directly to your bank account and you do not pay for that. Many scammers promise a large check only in order to then demand payment of courier fees for a fake courier service. )
This email message is a fake lottery scam. Consider the following facts about real lotteries:
1. They don't notify winners by email.
2. You can't win without first buying a lottery ticket.
3. They don't randomly select email addresses to award prizes to.
4. They don't use free email accounts (Yahoo, Hotmail, etc) to communicate with you.
5. They don't tell you to call a mobile phone number.
6. They don't tell you to keep your winnings secret.
7. They will never ask a winner to pay any fees to receive a prize!
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.
- +22999612055 (Benin, probably a prepaid mobile phone)
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.
- williamswilga@yahoo.co.nz (email address has been used in a known fraud before)
- contact agent name: mr williams mark e-mail: (williamswilga@yahoo.co.nz z) phone number: +229 99612055 for claims of your (Yahoo; can be used from anywhere worldwide)

Fraud email example:

From:
BENIN COMPENSATION DEPARTMENT INTERNATIONAL PAYMENT BUREAU <westernunionoffice53@ymail.com>
Reply-To:
BENIN COMPENSATION DEPARTMENT INTERNATIONAL PAYMENT BUREAU <dep.comp@yahoo.com>
Date: Thu, 8 Jan 2015 15:06:59 +0000 (UTC)
Subject: CONTACT AGENT NAME: MR WILLIAMS MARK

To your attention
Ref. Number: V12-EN / 16456714
Number winner: FR T 1B4
Lottery number: 95185236 B
Security Code: MSWF / VMAX / XZ07.
attn
beneficiary
Congratulations !!! Congratulations !! Congratulations !!

We are pleased to inform you of the result of international programs lottery winners held two days ago at our headquarters located
Seattle (Benin was chosen for the delivery of prizes and the start of this year in collaboration with all Francophone countries,

The total value of $20 million Us dollars game is Your E-mail address attached to ticket number is 95185236-B with serial number V12-EN / a 16,456,714
designated the lucky numbers 4-14-77-71-97-18 which consequently gain in first class with five other people,

You have therefore been approved to receive a lump sum of $4,000,000 usd(four millions us dollars)We will make sure various checks
to establish that you are actually a perfectly fit a user benefit from the prize of $4,000,000 (four millions us dollars)offered by AILKO DANGOTE FOUNDATION
INTERNET LOTTERY FOR EXPANSION IN THE WORLD Foundation created to a greater extension of the Internet on the planet earth.

Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â CONGRATULATIONS! ! CONGRATULATIONS! ! CONGRATULATIONS! ! !

Due to the mix up of some numbers and names, we ask to keep confidential information from your prize until the end of your
claims and before the funds you have been awarded,This is part of our security protocol to avoid double claiming and unwarranted abuse
of this program by some participants. All participants were drawn from a software point of voting by computer from more than 10,000,000
companies.
The selection range over 30,000,000 million e-mail addresses of individuals worldwide. This promotional program takes place every three Internet
year old. This lottery was promoted and sponsored by Mr. ailko dangote, Chairman ofÂ (MFR)
We hope with part of your winning you would be involved in promoting the Internet at home because it is also part of the promotion of
MR. AILKO DANGOTE foundation, the richest man in african,

Â you will be required to contact the agent in-charge ( mr williams mark) via e-mail. Kindly look below to find appropriate contact information:
Â CONTACT AGENT NAME: MR WILLIAMSÂ MARK
Â E-MAIL: (williamswilga@yahoo.co.nz
z)
Â PHONE NUMBER: +229 99612055

For claims of your winning prize,
You will be required to e-mail him with the following information:

FULL NAME: ...................................................... .............................. .....
MOBILE PHONE NUMBER / FAX: ................................. .................
COUNTRY...............................................................
FULL DELIVERY ADDRESS: ............................................................
DATE AND PLACE OF BIRTH: ................................................
OCCUPATION;...............................................................
YOUR COUNTRY ZIP CODE.........................................
Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
We remind you that winning must be claimed within two weeks from today after which all unclaimed funds will be reverses a
some International Health and Medicine Organizations.

To avoid errors, we remind you to specify your reference number, the lottery number and the winner while contact the agent incharge of your winning prize,

Â CONTACT AGENT NAME: MR WILLIAMS MARK
Â E-MAIL: (markw816@yahoo.com)
Â PHONE NUMBER: +229 99612055
Â
We have completed this investigation and you are hereby approved to receive the winning prize worth $4,000,000 usd,as we have verified the entire transaction to be Safe and 100% risk free, due to the fact that the funds have been deposited with IMF ( IMF INTERNATIONAL CLEARANCE CERTIFICATE )you will be required to settle the following bills directly to the Lottery Agent in-charge of this transaction whom is located in Cotonou, Benin Republic. According to our discoveries, you were required to pay for the following,
Â (1) Deposit Fee's ( IMF INTERNATIONAL CLEARANCE CERTIFICATE )
Â (2) Shipping Fee's ( This is the charge for shipping the Cashier's Check to your home address)
Â The total amount for everything is $290.00 We have tried our possible best to indicate that this $290.00 should be deducted from your winning prize but we found out that the funds have already been deposited to IMF and cannot be accessed by anyone apart from you the winner, therefore you will be required to pay the required fee's to the Agent in-charge of this transaction In order to proceed with this transaction,

Yours in Service,Photograph of Director
SirÂ pendo Frederick.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam