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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:
  • ",500,000" (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)
  • "united state dollar" (this email uses bad English)
  • "abidjan" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
• This email message is a next of kin scam.

Fraud email example:

From: "robertjames2 Gazeta.pl" <robertjames2@gazeta.pl>
Reply-To: robertjamess17@yahoo.fr
Date: Wed, 2 Jul 2008 21:39:56 +0200
Subject: From Robert James


From Robert James.
From: Abidjan-Cote D'Ivoire.

Greeting,

It is my pleasure to write you after much consideration since I cannot be
able to see you face to face. I being the only son of my father,
(Late Robert Abraham from Zulu in the Republic of South Africa) I am 22
years old. My father was a limited liability Diamond and Gold, Cocoa,
merchant before his death, precisely a week after his return from Ivory
Coast where he went to negotiate for a Diamond and Gold, Cocoa business. He
died as a result of a car accident, (may his soul rest in peace) but before
he died, as if he knew He disclosed to me that he deposited the sum of
($5,500,000) Five million, five hundred thousand united state dollar
in a private
security company in Ivory coast, the money was meant from the Diamond and
Gold, Cocoa business as he wanted to establish in Abidjan. Although
according to my father he deposited the money in a private security company,
but declared it to them as Art craft He gave me,

(1) Deposit certificates,
(2) Receipts of payments,
(3) Agreement papers, so that I can retrieve this funds.

I have arrived in Abidjan (Ivory coast) in the country where the box was
deposited, thank God I have been able to locate the security company and
confirmed the item. Now with most honest and confidentiality I solicited ask
for your assistance to retrieve and move this funds to your country, so that
we would invest it in any lucrative business which you would introduce me
into over there as you can see, this money is my only hope in life, so I
would like to invest it wisely.

I will wait your response so that we will discuss the modality of this
transaction. Mean while I prepared to offer you 10% of this total sum for
your kind assistance immediately we cleared and move the fund into your
account.

Thank you and may God bless us all,

Robert James.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam