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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:
  • "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)
  • "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.
  • regro3@yahoo.pl

Fraud email example:

From: "regrog1@terra.es" <regrog1@terra.es>
Date: Sun, 21 Jan 2007 07:59:26 +0100 (MET)
Subject: Stand For The Claim



Stand For The Claim
From: Reginald A. Roberts
Bills & Exchange Department,
Diamond Bank Plc.
3, Akin Adesola St,
Victoria Island,
Lagos, Nigeria
Email: regro3@yahoo.pl


I am contacting you in regards to a business transfer of a huge sum of money from a deceased customer's account, who on January 31, 2000 was aboard the Alaska Airlines Flight 261 with his family, they were all killed when the plane heading to San Francisco and Seattle from Puerto Vallarta , Mexico , crashed into the Pacific Ocean . The deceased, Mr. Morris Thompson of Fairbanks , Alaska , and his wife and child died in that tragic incident.

You can read through for more information via the following web link; http://archives.cnn.com/2000/US/02/01/alaska.airlines.list

Although I Know that a transaction of this magnitude might make anyone apprehensive, I would like to assure you that I am sending you this email with the best of intensions. Since that tragic incident, we have been trying to get these funds out of the bank, the sum of US$17,214,000.00 (Seventeen Million, Two Hundred and Fourteen thousand United States Dollars) in an account that belongs to our foreign customers (Mr. Morris Thompson) who died along with his entire family in the above stated incident.

Since his death, none of his next of kin or relations has come forward to lay claims to this money as the heir. 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, i 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 me for the funds to be released in your favour as the beneficiary's next of kin.

It might interest you to know that we have secured an order of mandamus to locate any of the deceased beneficiaries from the probate High Court. Please acknowledge the receipt of this message in acceptance of our mutual business endeavour by furnishing us with the following:

Your full names and address, direct telephone and fax numbers, occupation and age.

These requirements will enable us file a letter of claim to the appropriate departments for necessary approvals in your favour before the transfer could be made. I shall be compensating you with 50% of the gross sum on final conclusion of this project, while the rest shall be for me. If this proposal is acceptable by you, do not take undue advantage of the trust i am trying to bestow in you.

We await your response.

Yours Sincerely,
Mr. Reginald A. Roberts





Ahora tambi&eacute;n puedes acceder a tu correo Terra desde el m&oacute;vil.

Inf&oacute;rmate en www.terra.es/correo.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam