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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
  (+225 +229 +234 +27 +31 +32 +34 +44 other)
• Company names mentioned in 419 spam:
  1 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
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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:

• An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "from the desk of" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "100% hitch free" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
• This email message is a next of kin scam.
• 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.
  • +27839252336 (South Africa, 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.
  • dr.dr_44@yahoo.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: dr.dr_44@yahoo.com
Date: Wed, 11 Oct 2006 21:39:02 +0200
Subject: CONFIDENTIALITY IS THE CASE

>From The Desk Of (DR HOPE MENDU).
Head of Department Fund Clearance/Release
Amalgamated Bank of South Africa (ABSA)
14 Nelson Mandela Ave.
Johannesburg SA.
Tel: +27-83-9252336
Email: dr.dr_44@yahoo.com
ATTN. Sir,

REMITTANCE FIFTEEN MILLION ($US 15,000,000) U.S.A DOLLARS.
CONFIDENTIALITY IS THE CASE

Forgive my indignation if this message comes to you as a surprise and may offend your personality for contacting you without your prior consent and writing through this channel. I believed your capability, trust and reliability to champion this business opportunity, which i am bringing your way.
I am. (DR HOPE MENDU)Principal Head of Department Fund Clearance / Release with Amalgamated Bank Of South Africa {ABSA}. In my department we discovered an abandoned sum of $US 15,000,000. (Fifteen million U.S.A dollars). In an account that belongs to one of our foreign customer who died along with his entire family on (Monday 31st July 2000) in a plane crash. Since we got information about his death, we have been expecting his next of kin to come over and claim his money because we cannot release it unless somebody applies for it as next of kin or relative on to the deceased as indicated in our banking guidelines, but unfortunately we learnt that all his supposed next of kin or relation died alongside with him at the plane crash leaving nobody behind for the claim. It is therefore upon this discovery that I and one official in my department now decided to make this business proposal to you and release the money to you as the next of kin or relation to the deceased for safety and subsequent disbursement sinc
e nobody is coming for it and we don’t want this money to go into the bank treasury as unclaimed fund.

The Banking law and guideline here stipulates that if such money remains unclaimed after Seven years, the money will be transferred into the Bank treasury as unclaimed fund. The request of a foreigner as next of kin in this business is occasioned by the fact that the customer was a foreigner, and a South African cannot stand as next of kin to a foreigner. We agree that 30 % of this money will be for you as foreign partner, in respect to the provision of an account, 10% will be set aside for any expenses incurred during the business and 60 % would be for me and my colleagues. There after I will visit your country for disbursement according to the percentages indicated.

Therefore to enable the immediate transfer of this fund to you as arranged, you must apply first to the bank as relations or next of kin of the deceased with your personal information indicating your private telephone and fax number for easy and effective communication and location where the money will be remitted. Upon receipt of your reply, I will send to you by fax or email the text of the application, which you will forward to the bank. I will not fail to bring to your notice that this transaction is 100% hitch free and that you should not entertain any atom of fear, as all required arrangements have been made for the transfer.
Please don’t forget to include your direct Telephone/Fax number(s). Respond to me strictly, through my private email: dr.dr_44@yahoo.com or contact me on my number +27-83-9252336 to acknowledge your interest and capability for further information.
Yours faithfully,

DR HOPE MENDU
(ABSA)
POST SCRITUM: Our client plane crash website...http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/859479.stm

You have to keep everything secret as to enable the transfer to move very smoothly into the account you will provide to the bank. As you finished reading this letter call me immediately so that we discuss very well over this business.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam