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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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• What can you do when you receive 419 spam
  
  
• 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:
  • "hundred thousand 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)
  • "00,000.00" (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)
  • "there is no risk involved" (almost true for the criminal - arrests of online criminals are rare)
• 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.
  • addo_annan@yahoo.co.uk (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "addoannan Gazeta.pl" <addoannan@gazeta.pl>
Date: Sat, 21 Jun 2008 15:00:01 +0100
Subject: Official message awaiting your answer


Attn: Dear,

I am Addo Annan, working with a Bank, Accra-Ghana as the manager. On the
course of the last year 2007 end of the year's report, I discovered that my
branch in which I am the manager made Five million, Four Hundred Thousand US
Dollars (5,400,000.00) as an excess profit. This fund is currently lying
unclaimed in my bank's NUSTRO ACCOUNT, without a beneficiary.

As an officer of the bank, I cannot be directly connected to this money thus
I am impelled to request for your assistance to stand as the beneficiary to
receive this money into your bank account, I shall provide you the pin-code
of the deposit when the time comes since I am the only person who knows
about this deposit. You shall be given 30% of this fund for your committed
effort while 65% shall be for me and my office and 5% shall be for
contingences. I do need to assure you that there is no risk involved in
this. It's going to be a bank-to-bank transfer. All I need from you is to
stand as the original depositor of this fund.

I will appreciate your timely response through my private email below
addo_annan@yahoo.co.uk

Yours truly,

Addo Annan

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam