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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

• About the 419 (Advance Fee) scam
• "Is that email a scam?" - Check it online here!
  
• 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.

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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:
  • "hundred thousand 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)
• This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
  
• This email lists mobile phone numbers. Use of such numbers is typical for scams because they allow criminals to conceal their true location. They can receive calls in an Internet cafe from where they send you emails, while pretending to be in some office.
  • +447031896002 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)
• 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.
  • michealcole@inmail24.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "MR. MICHAEL COLE" <MCO@yahoo.com> (may be fake)
Reply-To: michealcole@inmail24.com
Date: Wed, 9 Aug 2006 13:41:52 +0800
Subject: RE

Date: August 7th, 2006

From: Mr. Micheal Cole,
Crownwell Avenue, London,
Tel: +447031896002,
Fax: +447031894321,
Email: michealcole@inmail24.com.

Dear Sir,

OFFSHORE TRUST ACCOUNT

Compliments of the season! Courtesy of Business opportunity, I take liberty anchored on strong desire to solicit for your assistance on this mutual beneficial and risk free transaction with you, which I hope you give urgent attention. To be precise, I am Mr. Micheal Cole, a Client and Investment Manager with United Trust Bank . (London). We are private bankers to the rich and famous with a strong and long service history that still runs in the Gonet family.

Being a private bank, we run a comparable small number of staff as our clients are close to us as family. Also, as a founding member of the Swiss Private Bankers Association, we operate on the strong Swiss tradition of secrecy and annonymity hence high quality of our customer base among them Heads of state, Government Ministers, Celebrities, Bussiness moguls and alike who deposit huge sums of money with our Trust Unit. Dividents of such investments are paid off upon investment and annonymity is highly manitained.

I discover that a client who is of South American origin has not upgraded his 5 year investment plans. Upon due investigation, I found out that he passed away in 2002 and his Trust Investment of US$18.5 Million (Eighteen Million Five Hundred Thousand United States Dollars) was not mentioned in his estate which has been duely executed by United Trust.

Since I got the full information, I kept it from my directors as this is the perfect opportunity in the private banking sector. I am therefore soliciting your assistance to claim and transfer this fund to your account. I am the client manager and I will give you all the documents to support the claim. Please note that should we not claim this money, it will be part of the United Trust Bank Ltd assets which is above US$30 Billion at present.

Be informed we are not going to have problems with remitting the funds to your account. All I need is your support and confidentiality. I planned to resigned as soon as the fund is transferred to your account. This transaction will take about 21 working days to conclude. We will discuss the percentage disbursment of this fund upon your acceptance of this mutual offer. I quite believe that you will protect my interest by keeping this business Top Secret and Confidential, as your interest will be equally protected in order to achieve and maintain maximum confidentiality. Trust to hear from you on the above numbers as I count on your earliest response.

Yours truly,


Mr. Micheal Cole
United Trust Bank,
London.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam