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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
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• Company names mentioned in 419 spam:
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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 friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "necessary legal documents" (this will cost you money - be careful with upfront payments to anyone you only know through email, especially if they promise you a lot of money. Never ever send money by Western Union or MoneyGram to people you do not know personally. )
  • "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)
  • "million 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)
  • "i have a new email address!" (this SPAM email was probably sent to thousands of people)
• This email message is a next of kin scam.

Fraud email example:

From: (sent from abused email account)
Reply-To: markkoromah_private1@yahoo.in
Date: Mon, 13 Oct 2008 23:31:54 +0530 (IST)
Subject: Dear Friend


I have a new email address!You can now email me at: markkoromah@yahoo.in



- Dear Friend,I am Mr Mark Koromah. I am accounting officer in foreign accounts department in our bank International Commercial Bank of Ghana west Africa. During our last auditing in our Bank,My Department came across a very huge sum of money (9.5 million dollars) Nine million five hundred thousand dollars,belonging to a deceased customer of our Bank Engineer Fredrick Ivanova,a Foreigner,who died in ghastly motor accident at Tema motor high way in October 27/ 2003.Since then I have made several inquiries to foreign embassy here to locate any of our clients extended relatives, this has proved unsuccessful. After these several unsuccessful attempts, I decided to trace his relatives over the Internet, to locate any of his family member but of no avail,Hence I contacted you for you are a foreigner as our late customer I need your assistance in evacuation of the funds left behind by our client in the Bank before they get confiscated or declared unserviceable by the Government, b!
ecause official, financial laws here stipulate it that after five years any fund or assets deposited with bank/security firm without claim or servicing, the money or assets will be divert to central bank as unclaimed bill. Since I have been unsuccessfully in locating the relatives for over 2 years now, I seek your consent to present you as the next of kin of the deceased since you are a Foreigner , so that the proceeds of this deposit valued at $9.5 million dollars can be paid to you and we share the money, I have all necessary legal documents that can be used to back up this claim in the bank. I will allow you 15% of this fund for your kind assistance. All I require is your honest cooperation to enable us see this deal through. I guarantee you that this business will be executed under a legitimate arrangement that will protect you from any breach of the law. You have to assure me that you will not sit on the fund when it is finally claimed by you. CONFIDENTIALITY: This e-!
mail message and any attachments thereto, is intended only for use by
the addressee(s) named herein and may contain legally privileged and/or confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient of this e-mail message, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this e-mail message, and any attachments thereto, is strictly prohibited. If you have received this e-mail message in error, please immediately notify the sender and permanently delete the original and any copies of this email and any prints thereof.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam