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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery 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.

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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:
  • "from the desk of" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "huge deposit" (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)
  • "million united states 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)
  • "is 100% risk free" (almost true for the criminal - arrests of online criminals are rare)
  • "lagos" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
• This email message is a next of kin scam.

Fraud email example:

From: "mrjerrywilliams37" <mrjerrywilliams37@terra.com.mx>
Date: Fri, 30 Jun 2006 12:59:10 -0600
Subject: Hello Friend


>From The Desk Of
Mr.Jerry Williams.
Audit & Finance Officer.
United Bank of Africa Plc.
Hello,
I am Mr.Jerry Williams,an Accountant with UNITED BANK OF AFRICA PLC
LAGOS NIGERIA,I amwriting this letter to ask for your support and cooperation to carry out this business opportunity in my department i am the Personal Accountant to Engr.Ronald,contractor with the Department of Petroleum Resources(DPR)and,who here-in after shall be
referred to as my client,on the January 27, 2002 my client,and his family were involved in Ikeja bomb blast unfortunately they lost their lives in the process of the bomb blast.
Since then,i have made several inquiries to his country's embassy to
locate any of my clients extended relatives, this has also proved unsuccessful.After these several unsuccessful attempts,I decided to trace over the Internet, to locate any member of his family hence my contact with you.
I have contacted you to assist in repatriating the money and property
left behind by my client before they get confiscated or declared unserviceable by the Bank where these huge deposits were lodged,where the deceased had an account valued at about (USD16,311 Million United States Dollars).
Since i have been unsuccessful in locating the relatives for over some years now,i seek your consent to present you as the next of kin to the deceased to have the account confiscated within the next Ten(10) official working days.
The reason for contacting you is because you are a foreigner and can
act in the capacity of the next of kin to my deceased client,and as such will enable a change of ownership through the bank,so that the proceeds of this account valued at (USD16,311 Million United States Dollars),canbe paid into your account as the heir of the fund since no one came for it,then you
and me canshare the money in this rotio 50% to me,35% to you and 10%for any charity organization,while5% will be set aside for unforeseen bottlenecks we might incure during the course of this transaction.
For clarity,this transaction is 100% risk free and you have nothing to
worry about as all necessarymachineries will putted in place to make sure this funds is paid to you as the legitimatebeneficiary to it.
For confirmation, please refer to the links below:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/2718295.sm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/worald/africa/2698081tm
http://www:worldsocialistcwi.org/index2.html?/eng/2002/02/02.html
All I require is your honest co-operation to enable us see this deal
through.I guarantee thatthiswill be executed under a legitimate arrangement that will protect you and me from any breach of the law.
Kind regards,
Mr.Jerry Williams.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam