419 Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam (2006-01)

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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

The so-called "419" scam is a type of fraud dominated by criminals from Nigeria and other countries in Africa. Victims of the scam are promised a large amount of money, such as a lottery prize, inheritance, money sitting in some bank account, etc.

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.

Keep in mind that scammers DO NOT use their real names when defrauding people.
The criminals either abuse names of real people or companies or invent names or addresses.
Any real people or companies mentioned below have NO CONNECTION to the scammers!

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.
This email uses a separate reply address that is different from the sender address. Spammers use this to get replies even when the original spam sending accounts have been shut down. Also, sometimes the sender addresses are legitimate looking but fake and only the reply address is actually an email account controlled by the scammers.
The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "the required fees" (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 send money by Western Union or MoneyGram to people you do not know personally - NO EXCEPTIONS! Instant wire transfer services are not meant to be used with strangers because they offer no protection against fraud. That is precisely why the criminals want you send money that way. )
- "claims agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
- "to your nominated bank account" (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)
- ",000,000" (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)
- "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)
This email message is a fake lottery scam. Consider the following facts about real lotteries:
1. They don't notify winners by email.
2. You can't win without first buying a lottery ticket.
3. They don't randomly select email addresses to award prizes to.
4. They don't use free email accounts (Yahoo, Hotmail, etc) to communicate with you.
5. They don't tell you to call a mobile phone number.
6. They don't tell you to keep your winnings secret.
7. They will never ask a winner to pay any fees to receive a prize!
This email lists mobile phone numbers. Use of such numbers is typical for scams because they allow criminals to conceal their true location. They can receive calls in an Internet cafe from where they send you emails, while pretending to be in some office.
- +22967920418 (Benin, probably a prepaid mobile phone)
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.
- agentpowerball.olinelotterycoll@inbox.ru (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From:
=?UTF-8?Q?Power_ball_Online_Lottery=E2=80=8F=E2=80=8F?= <falesha.zwiebel@yahoo.pt>
Reply-To:
=?UTF-8?Q?Power_ball_Online_Lottery=E2=80=8F=E2=80=8F?= <agentpowerball.olinelotterycoll@inbox.ru>
Date: Tue, 30 Dec 2014 16:00:54 +0000 (UTC)
Subject: =?UTF-8?Q?Power_ball_Online_Lottery=E2=80=8F=E2=80=8F?=

Â Â FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
Anti-Terrorist and International Fraud Division
601 4th Street NW, Washington, DC 20535
Re:Notification Of Your Verified Lottery Winnings.

We are officially informing you that it has come to our notice and we have thoroughly completed an Investigation with the help of the our Intelligence Monitoring Network System that you legally won the sum of $1,000,000.00 US Dollars from the PowerballÂ® Lottery draw held on Friday through an online balloting system. During our investigation it was discovered that tickets are assigned to email marketing lists donated from marketing companies here in the United States and around the world on behalf of all email account holders that are currently subscribed to newsletters and advertisements. Therefore your email address won you the Lottery from the online balloting system.

The issue was brought before the board and we authorized this winning to be authentic and to be transferred to you electronically. Typically, it will take up to 20 business days for an international transfer to be processed in the United States, so we ordered the lottery board to have funds remitted directly to you from a bank registered to the lottery organization within our reginal office off united state so as to enable you receive your lottery winnings within 24 hours by whatever means you choose. They complied with our instructions and the amount of $1,000,000.00 US Dollars was deposited with Your paying BankÂ®.

We have completed this investigation and you are hereby approved to receive the winning prize immediately as we have verified the entire transaction to be Legitimate, Safe and 100% risk free. Due to the fact that the funds were transferred to the United States from an international location, it is 100% Tax-Free, which means the funds are bonded and nothing can be deducted from it before you make your transfer. According to our records and because of the tax-free-no-deduction policy, you are required to settle the following bills for authorization directly to your lottery claims agent in charge of this transaction before you can transfer the funds to yourself: Cost of EFT Transfer & Conversion Fee.

The total amount is $145 (One Hundred and Forty Five United States Dollars). We have tried our possible best to have the lottery organization deduct the $1459 from your lottery winning but the funds have already been deposited at the bank and cannot be accessed by anyone apart from you (the winner), again due to the Tax-Free-No-Deduction policy. Therefore you have to pay the required fees to your lottery claims agent in charge of this transaction. You will be granted instant access to your account with Youring Bank where your $1,000,000 was deposited and you can request a check, credit/debit card or make a transfer out to your nominated bank account.

In order to claim your $1,000,000.00, here are your Winning Numbers: 16 17 22 46 54 (35). contact our lottery regional agent with the wining number's via his office mail address at

(agentpowerball.olinelotterycoll@inbox.ru)
Mr. Collins Grant
+229-67920418

Go to the PowerballÂ® Lottery head office for more verification : fill the "Winner's Claim Form" As soon as your form is received a claims agent will be in contact with you within minutes, For your comfort you can click on "Winners' Stories" just to be clear and verify from other lottery winners.

This letter and the seal above will serve as proof that the Federal Bureau of Investigation is authorizing you to pay the required $145usd to the PowerballÂ® Lottery by means they provide you with. Once again this lottery has been â€œVERIFIEDâ€ and is under our 24hr surveillance every step of the way.

Due to possible confusion of some numbers and email contacts, PowerballÂ® Lottery Association ask that you keep your winnings strictly from public notice until your claim has been processed and your money remitted. This is part of our security protocol to avoid double claiming or unscrupulous acts by some participants of this program.

*** A copy of your winning ticket is below this e-mail as proof of authenticity ***

Richard L. Haley II
Assistant Director (AD)/Chief Financial Officer (CFO)
Federal Bureau of Investigation

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam