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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

• About the 419 (Advance Fee) scam
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• Phone numbers used by 419 scammers
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• 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:
  • "share the funds upon agreed terms" (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)
  • ",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)
  • "lagos" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
• This email message is a next of kin scam.

Fraud email example:

From: mike lawson <lawson621@msn.com>
Reply-To: <mlaw_mail31@yahoo.co.uk>
Date: Sat, 20 Dec 2008 01:26:45 +0000
Subject: NEXT OF KIN



Attn: My Good Friend,

Compliment of the day,

I must solicit your confidentiality and assure you that I am contacting
you in good faith and this proposal will be of mutual benefit. I am Mr
MIKE LAWSON, the Manager of the Treasury Department of: SPRING BANK NIG.PLC, LAGOS.

A customer of ours, Mr.Aldo Lutz, an American Investor, Managing
Director/ Chief Executive Officer of an Aircraft Company, named
Atlantic Sky, whose death occurred on 22nd December 2002 at the General Hospital Lagos on Sunday evening by 4pm.

Before his death, I assisted him in the deposit of some funds
($17,500,000) in our Vault-In-A-Box services for safekeeping. The funds
have remained unclaimed since his death, and such unclaimed funds are
appropriated and returned to the treasury as a matter of policy.
Considering my lack of success in my bid to locate any of his relatives
for over a year now, I hereby solicit your consent to enable me PRESENT you as the Next of Kin to my deceased customer.

I am contacting you for two reasons:
Firstly, you both are foreigners, which makes the claim most credible.
Secondly,his Last Will and Testament contains a residuary clause, giving his Lawyer express authority to nominate the beneficiary to his residuary
estate.

The Lawyer is aware of this whole process and will confirm you as the next
of kin/Beneficiary to my Late customer when it becomes necessary and immediately forward to you all necessary documents covering this transaction in his care.

As soon as this is done, you will give further instructions to the BANK, to transfer the deposited funds into a Nominated Bank Acct. after which we shall then share the funds upon agreed terms.

When I receive your response, I will provide you with further details.

I Remain,

Yours Faithful

MIKE LAWSON

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam