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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:
  • "await your urgent response" (they are rushing you so you don't have time to think properly)
• This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
  
• 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.
  • donald_jefferson07@yahoo.com

Fraud email example:

From: "donald jefferson" <donald_jefferson06@hotmail.com>
Date: Sat, 29 Oct 2005 13:56:47 +0000
Subject: I AM COUNTING ON YOU

Dear Friend,

I know this letter may come to you as a surprise, but
I implore you to take it in good faith, as this is the
only possible medium available to me to make contact,
due to the precarious situation we are presently faced
with here.

My name is mr DONALD JEFFERSON an account officer in HALIFAX BANK PLC UK .in
my bank i have this very confidential transaction THAT BWILL BE OF GREAT
BENEFIT TO YOU .

i had a very close friend who was banking with my bank .before he died of a
plane crash while flying down to united kingdom (uk) from his country,
his names are Elsayed mohamed.

The issue is this
,before his death, he had an account that is worth 4.5 million pounds in
his account in my bank.
and due to the fact that he didnt know he was going to die ,he never left
any one to be his next of kin.therefore the money is still there in his
account as i write you this .he died 3 years ago,
i have tried all possible means to contact his family but i cant find any
one SINCE HE IS A FOREIGNER.
therefore instead of the money to waste of in the bank like that,
i am therefore seeking
urgently and discreetly searching for a reliable
person/foreigner like you to stand as next of kin to late elsayed
mohamed.this can be done from wherever you are.all i need is your
approval.then i will go ahead to prepare \equip you with all the neccessary
documents you will need.
i will personally pay for all the documents you will be needing.

However if you know you have the capacity and you are
interested, please contact me urgently on my personal and email address
at (donald_jefferson07@yahoo.com) so I can seek
for a more secured avenue to communicate further
details of this transaction and also negotiate what
will come to you for your assistance.

Because of the profile of the money involved and my personality in this
transaction, I urge you to keep this contact strictly
confidential and be rest assured that we all stand to
benefit greatly in this transaction in the shortest
possible time, provided we find a common ground to
work together to realize this windfall.

I await your urgent response and look forward to a
fruitful co-operation.

Sincerely,

mr DONALD JEFFERSON
HALIFAX BANK

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam