419 Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam (YYYY-MM)

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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:
- "required fee " (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. )
- "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. )
- "you are advise to" (this email uses bad English)
- "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: "western unionoffce" <"WWWW."@mint.ocn.ne.jp>
Reply-To: "western unionoffce" <westernunionoffce8080@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 29 Dec 2017 08:37:47 +0900 (JST)
Subject: THIS MAIL IS ONLY FOR THE OWNER OF THIS E-MAIL ADDRESS, REGARDING
YOUR

THIS MAIL IS ONLY FOR THE OWNER OF THIS E-MAIL ADDRESS, REGARDING YOUR
APPROVED FUND: $6,500.000.00 DOLLARS.

Somebody called our office and claimed you assign him to receive these
funds on your behalf. So i called our head office to be sure before we
pay money to the wrong person. It$B!G(Bs clear and understood that you are
very much alive and you did not authorize anyone to receive money on
your behalf. This case will be handed over to the police board to
investigate who this man is he$B!G(Bs trying to steal funds that does not
belong to him. The total money is $6,500.000.00 USD and we will be
sending you $5,000 daily until the $6,500.000.00 dollars are fully
paid to you. Below is the payment details made to you but your name
has not been update as the receiver.

Please give us your Address and Full name which you need to receive the money.

HERE IS THE PAYMENT DETAILS POST OUT THIS MORNING

MTCN#: 65479301
Sender: EDWIN NWA
Amount: $5,000
Receiver: ****
Question: Transfer code?
Answer: 001

STATUS: FUND AVAILABLE TO BE RECEIVE.

You are required to send $250 for the purchasing of your transfer files
to prevent an illegal payments to you. Your name has not be updated on
the system as the receiver but we will do that once we receive the
required fee from you then we put your name as the receiver.

You are advise to send the fee $250 today. Send it by western union or
money gram to the information below,

Name: EDWIN NWA
COUNTRY: BENIN REPUBLIC
CITY: COTONOU
QUESTION: WHEN?
ANSWER: NOW

As soon as we receive confirmation of $250 payment from you we will
quickly purchase your transfer files and put your name as the
receiver. You will receive message back from us then you go and
receive your $5,000 today. Please note, you need to go along with your
passport ID or your state identity card when you need to pick up the
fund transfer today OK. You are entitle to receive your payment today
if you do send the $250 today as well. This is the only payment you are
required to make in this regards for every other fee have been waived
off by the federal ministry Benin.

Look forward hearing from you once you send the fee.

Mr.EDWIN NWA
Tel:(+229) 99075941

=======================

PAYMENT POST OUT THIS MORNING MTCN#: 65479301

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam