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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

• About the 419 (Advance Fee) scam
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• Frequently asked Questions (419 FAQ)
• Phone numbers used by 419 scammers
  (+225 +229 +234 +27 +31 +32 +34 +44 other)
• Company names mentioned in 419 spam:
  1 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
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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)
  • "huge sum of money" (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 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.
  • mikewebber@web2mail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "Michael Webber" <michaelwebber@web2mail.com>
Reply-To: michaelwebber11@web2mail.com
Date: Thu, 03 Aug 2006 20:40:22 -0300
Subject: I wait to hear from you as soon as possible.

Mr. Michael Webber
AIB Bank (CI) Limited
P.O.Box 186
10 Finch Road
Douglas, Isle of Man.
IM99 1QE.

Dear Friend,

PRIVATE AND URGENT.

I am contacting you with regards to a business transfer
of a huge sum of money from a deceased's account. Though
I know that a transaction of this magnitude will make any
one apprehensive and worried, but I am assuring you that
all will be well at the end of the day.

We decided to contact you due to the urgency of this claim
as we discovered an abandoned sum of US$20,000,000.00
(Twenty Million Dollars) in an account that belongs to one
of our foreign customers who died along with his entire
family in a fatal road accident.

Since his death, none of his next-of-kin or relations has
come forward to lay claims to this money as the heir. My
associate and I found you to be from the same country and
with the same surname as our client and we were in effect
compelled to contact you immediately.

We cannot release the funds from his account unless someone
applies for claim as the next-of-kin to the deceased as
indicated in our banking guidelines. Upon this discovery,
we now seek your permission to have you stand as a next-of-
kin to the deceased as all documentations will be carefully
worked out by us for the funds (US$20,000,000.00) to be
released in your favour as the beneficiary's next-of-kin.
It may interest you to note that we have secured from the
probate an order of mandamus to locate any of deceased's
beneficiaries. Please acknowledge receipt of this message
in acceptance of our mutual business endeavour by furnishing
me with the following;

1. Your Full name and physical address.
2. Direct Telephone and fax numbers.
3. Information regarding your date of birth.

These requirements will enable us file a letter of claim
to the appropriate departments for necessary approvals in
your favour before the transfer can be made. We shall be
compensating you with 4 Million Dollars on final conclusion
of this project, while the rest shall be for us. Your share
stays with you while we come over to collect the rest from
you immediately it hits your nominated account for private
investment.

If this proposal is acceptable by you, do not take undue
advantage of the trust we have bestowed in you, I await
your urgent mail through my confidential email address only:
mikewebber@web2mail.com

Sincerely yours,

Michael Webber.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Email sent from webmail service of the Allied Irish Bank (GB).

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam