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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:
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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)
  • "barrister" (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
• This email message is a next of kin scam.
• Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.

Fraud email example:

From: "Luisa Estrada" <mrs_luisa_estrada@hotmail.com>
Reply-To: barrister_luisa_estrada@o2.pl
Date: Sat, 01 Oct 2005 10:07:10 +0100
Subject: From:Mrs Luisa Estrada.

Dear Friend,


Compliments of the day to you.

I must solicit your confidentiality and assure you that I am contacting you
in good faith, as this proposal will be of mutual benefit. I am Barrister
Mrs Luisa Estrada Esq. a legal practitioner by profession i am 64 yrs old.
My client, late Mr. Peter Bockowski, was killed with his entire family in a
fatal motor accident, sparing none of the occupants of the vehicle two years
ago. Before his death, I assisted him deposit USD$15.8m {Fifteen
Million,Eight Hundred Thousand Dollars Only}with a Security Company
as"family treasure"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 the 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 client.

I am contacting you for two reasons. Firstly, as you reside abroad, and it
fits into the original plans required to affect the release of the funds to
you, which makes the claim most credible. Secondly, I strongly believe that
the Security Company does not deserve to inherit the funds. These reasons
led to my resolve to claim the funds, which was why I contacted you. With
your permission, I will proceed to establish you as the next of
kin/Beneficiary to my late client. As soon as this is done, you will then
give instructions to the Security Company, to release the deposited funds
you, after which we shall then share the funds upon agreed terms.

Please indicate your intrest and furnish me with the following
informations:-

Your full name and address
Your telephone/fax number

Once I receive this information,I will start the documention that will put
you in place as the new owner of the funds. The money will then be released
to your custody by the Deposit Company.

Thank you for your understanding.

Sincerely Yours,

Barrister Mrs Luisa Estrada Esq.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam