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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:

• 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:
  • "contract review panel" (the name of a person or institution often appearing in 419 scams)
  • "lagos" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
• 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.
  • drjamesolu@yahoo.com.cn (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "robhj" <robhj@manx.net>
Reply-To: drjamesolu@yahoo.com.cn
Date: Thu, 24 Aug 2006 11:02:27 +0100
Subject: RE:REPLY IN GOOD FAITH!

FROM: Dr. James Olu.
25 Adefobi Street,
Ikoyi Island,
Lagos.

Good day,

I would like to firstly send to you the best
wishes of good health and success in your pursuits
particularly through my proposal as contained in this letter.

Before going into details of my proposal to you,
I must first implore you to treat with the utmost
confidentiality as this is required for its success
and to have faith in this transaction, for opportunities
like this only comes to one once in a life time.

My colleagues and I are senior officials of the Federal
Government of my country's Contracts Review Panel (CRP)
who are interested in diverting some funds that are presently
floating in the accounts of the Apex Bank of my country. In
order to commence this transaction, we solicit for your
assistance to enable us transfer into your nominated account
the said floating funds.

The source of the funds are as follows: During the last
military regim in my country, government officials set up
companies and awarded themselves contracts that were grossly
over-invoiced in various ministries and parastatals.
The present civilian government set up the Contract Review Panel
( as part of it's anti-corruption policy ), which has the mandate
to use the instruments of payments made available to it by the
decree setting up the panel, to review these contracts and if
necessary pay those who are being owed outstanding amounts.

My colleagues and I have identified quite a huge sum of these
funds, which are presently floating in our (Apex) Central Bank,
ready for disbursement and would like to divert some of it for
our own purposes. However, by virtue of our positions as civil
servants and members of this panel, we cannot acquire these
funds in our names or in the names of companies that are
based in my country. I have therefore been mandated, as a
matter of trust by my colleagues in the panel, to look for
a reliable overseas partner into whose account we can transfer
the sum of U.S.$20,500,000.00 (Twenty million, five hundred
thousand U.S. dollars). That is why I am seeking your assistance.
We have agreed to share the money to be transferred into your
account, if you agree with our proposition as follows;

(i) 25% to the account owner (you).
(ii) 65% for us (the panel officials).
(iii) 10% to be used in settling all expenses (by both you and us)
incidental to the actualization of this project.

We wish to invest our share of the proceeds of this project
in foreign stock markets and other viable business till we
are ready and able to have access to them without raising
any eyebrows here at home.

Please note that this transaction is 100% safe and risk-free.
We intend to effect the transfer within ten (10) banking days
from the date of receipt of the following information through
the fax number stated above: Your company's name, address,
telephone and fax numbers; we will use your company's name
to apply for the payment and backdate the award of the contract
in favour of your company. We are looking forward to doing this
transaction with you and we solicit for your utmost confidentiality
in this transaction.

I will bring you into a more detailed picture of this transaction
when I hear from you. Reply to drjamesolu@yahoo.com.cn


Best regards,

Dr.James Olu.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam