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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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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:

• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "dear sir/madam" (a standard Nigerian greeting phrase)
  • "million 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.
  

Fraud email example:

From: "samjohn@terra.es" <samjohn@terra.es>
Date: Wed, 5 Dec 2007 10:31:22 +0100 (MET)
Subject: Hello Dear



Hello Dear
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am a civil servant in the Debt Management Office of the Federal Republic
of Nigeria. I am 51 years old and I have been in the civil service for 25
years. My retirement is fast aproaching and so I have started to think
about life after retirement.

Consequent on the above, I seek your co-operation and partnership in the
transfer of the sum of US$45M(Forty - five million United States dollars).
I have protected this fund for over ten years. Now that my retirement is
near I feel it's time to transfer this fund out of the country to avoid
loosing it to the government.

The money actually came from the cuts I made on various payments before
approving such payments. I could not transfer the fund because I do not
have a domiciliary account since a civil-servant is not allowed to have a
domiciliary account in my country.

There is no risk in this transaction since the money was not stolen. All
we need do is to follow the process of transfering the fund according to
the legal proceedures. I can assure you that your involvement in this
transaction cannot dent your image in any way.

I will give you all the details as soon as I hear from you.
If you are interested in this business, please indicate so and send me
your phone number for further briefing.
Regards.

Sam John







Ahora tambi&eacute;n puedes acceder a tu correo Terra desde el m&oacute;vil.

Inf&oacute;rmate pinchando aqu&iacute;.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam