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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

• About the 419 (Advance Fee) scam
• "Is that email a scam?" - Check it online here!
  
• 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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• Spam archive, Daily index
  

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.

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.
• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "dear friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "huge sum of money" (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)
  • "hundred thousand united states 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)
• This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
  
• 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.
  • mrphilipjohn2@yahoo.co.uk (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: <mrphilipjohn2@yahoo.co.uk>
Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2007 12:40:43 -0000
Subject: Urgent

mrphilipjohn2@yahoo.co.uk has sent this email to you to recommend the following page from visitdublin.com, the official tourist information web site for Dublin: http://www.visitdublin.com/contact/default.aspx.

Dear Friend,
I am contacting you in regards to a business transfer of a huge
sum of money from a deceased account. Though I know that a
transaction of this magnitude will make anyone apprehensive and
worried , but I am assuring you that all will be well at the end
of the day. I decide to contact you due to the urgency of this
transaction. I am a banker base in the London United Kingdom(UK)
I discovered an abandoned sum of twenty two million three
hundred thousand United States dollars ($ 22, 300, 000m) in an
account that belongs to one of our foreign customers who died
along with his entire family. Since his death, none of his
next-of-kin or relations has come forward to lay claims to this
money as the heir. We cannot release the fund from his account
unless someone applies for claim as the next-of-kin to the
deceased as indicated in our banking guidelines.Upon this
discovery,i now carrfully moved this fund out of the bank and
keep it with a private firm whos name is withheld for now untill
we open communication and build a mutual relationship. I am now
seeking your permission to have you stand as the beneficiary to
the said fund so that you can help me claim it successfully
without any problem. It may interest you to note that we have
secured from the probate an order of madamus to locate any of
the deceased beneficiaries but to no avail. Please acknowledge
receipt of this message in acceptance of my mutual business
endeavour by furnishing me with the following;

1.Your Full Names and Address.
2.Direct Telephone and Fax numbers.

These requirements will enable me file a letter of claim to the
appropriate departments for necessary approvals in your favor
before the claim can be made. I shall be compensating you with
30 % on final conclusion of this project, while the rest shall
be for me. Your share stays with you while the rest shall be for
me for investment purposes in your country. If this proposal is
acceptable by you, do not take undue advantage of the trust i
have bestowed in you, I await your urgent email. Awaiting your
reply
Regards,
Mr John Philip

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam