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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

• About the 419 (Advance Fee) scam
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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.

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.
• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "dear friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "from the desk of" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "million us 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)
  • "contact me immediately" (they are rushing you so you don't have time to think properly)
  • "foreign remittance department" (Banks mentioned in 419 scams are always fake (real banks don't communicate using mobile phones or free webmail addresses))
• This email message is a next of kin scam.
• 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.
  • johnson000000001@yahoo.com.mx
  • femi-johnson04@myway.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: =?iso-8859-1?q?johnson?= <johnson000000001@yahoo.com.mx>
Reply-To: femi-johnson05@myway.com
Date: Sun, 28 May 2006 19:49:48 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: HOW ARE YOU?


¡Tengo nueva dirección de correo!Ahora puedes escribirme a: johnson000000001@yahoo.com.mx

HOW ARE YOU?

FROM THE DESK OF MR JOHNSON EMI.

FOREIGN OPERATIONS MANAGER,

MERCHANT BANK OF AFRICA (MBA)

HEADQUARTERS,

214, TINUBU SQUARE-LAGOS

Dear Friend,

I am the manager of bill and exchange at the foreign remittance

department of MERCHANT BANK OF AFRICA (M.B.A) here in Nigeria. In my

department we discovered an abandoned sum of US$17M dollars (Seventeen

Million US dollars) in an account that belongs to one of our

foreigncustomer (MR. ANDREAS SCHRANNER from Munich, Germany)who worked

with Shell Development Nigeria and died while on holiday in Germany

with his entire family in July 2000 in a plane crash.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/859479.stm

Since we got information about his death, we have been expecting his

next of kin to come over and claim his money because we cannot release

it unless some body applies for it as next of kin or relation to the

deceased as indicated in our banking guidelines and laws but

Unfortunately we learnt that all his supposed next of kin or relation

died alongside with him at the plane crash leaving nobody behind for

the claim. It is therefore upon this discovery that I now decided to

make this business proposal to you and release the money to you as the

next of kin or relation to the deceased for safety and subsequent

disbursement since nobody is coming for it and we don't want this money

to go into the bank treasury as unclaimed bill.

The banking law and guidelines here stipulates that if such money

remained unclaimed after fours years, the money will be transferred

into the bank treasury as unclaimed fund. The request of a foreigner as

next of kin in this business is occasioned by the fact that the

customer was a foreigner.

I agree that 40% of this money will be for you as a respect for the

provision of a foreign account, 10% will be set aside for expenses

incurred during the business and 50% would be for me. Thereafter, I

will visit your country for disbursement according to the percentage

indicated. To enable the immediate transfer of this fund to you

arranged.

You must apply first to the bank as relation or next of kin of the

deceased indicating your,permanenr address and private telephone and fax

number for easy and effective communication and location where the money will be remitted.

Upon receipt of your reply, I will send to you by fax or email the text

of the application. I will not fail to bring to your notice this

transaction is hitch-free and that you should not entertain any atom of

fear as all required arrangements have been made for the transfer. You

should contact me immediately you receive this letter.

Please reply strictly to this EMAIL: femi-johnson04@myway.com

Trusting to hear from you immediately.

Yours Faithfully,

MR JOHNSON EMI.

- johnson

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam