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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

• About the 419 (Advance Fee) scam
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• Phone numbers used by 419 scammers
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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)
  • "cotonou" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
• This email message is a next of kin scam.
• 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.
  • johnxongeorge1@myway.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: jgeorge1956@zipmail.com.br
Date: Sat, 10 Mar 2007 17:05:32 +0100
Subject: =?iso-8859-1?Q?Urgent=20=26=20Confidential=2E?=

Urgent & Confidential.

Hello Sir,

Greetings from Cotonou,

Before I introduce myself, I wish to inform you that this letter is not
a hoax mail and I urge you to treat it serious. We want to transfer to an
oversea account ($21,300.000.00 USD) Twenty one Million Three Hundred Thousand
United States Dollars) from a ECOBANK here in COTONOU, REPUBLIC OF BENIN.
I want to ask you, If you are not capable to quietly look for a reliable
and honest person who will be capable and fit to provide either an existing
bank account or to set up a new Bank a/c immediately to receive this money,
even an empty a/c can serve to receive this money, as long as you will remain
honest to me till the end for this important business trusting in you and
believing in God that you will never let me down either now or in future.

I am Mr. Johnson George, presently promoted to Auditor General of ECOBANK.
During the course of our auditing last week, I discovered a floating fund
in an account opened in the bank in 1996 and since 1998 nobody has operated
on this account again, after going through some old files in the records,
I discovered that the owner of the account died without a [Heir/WILL] hence
the money is floating and if I do not remit this money out urgently it will
be forfeited for nothing.

The owner of this account Mr. Morris Thompson an American and great industrialist
and a resident of Alaska, who unfortunately lost his life in the plane crash
of Alaska Airlines Flight 261 which crahsed on January 31 2000, including
his wife and only daughter leaving nobody to claim the money. You shall
read more news about the crash on visiting this site.

http://www.cnn.com/2000/US/02/01/alaska.airlines.list/

No other person knows about this account or any thing concerning it, the
account has no other beneficiary and my investigation proved to me as well
that the account is a secret account.

The total amount involved is Twenty One million Three Hundred Thousand United
States Dollars only ($21,300.000.00) and we wish to transfer this money
into a safe foreigners account abroad. But I don't know any foreigner, I
am only contacting you as a foreigner because this money can not be approved
to a local person here, but to a foreigner who has information about the
account, which I shall give to you upon your positive response. I am revealing
this to you with believe in God that you will never let me down in this
business, you are the first and the only person that I am contacting for
this business, so please reply urgently so that I will inform you the next
step to take urgently.

I need your strong assurance that you will never let us down, me and key
bank officials who are deeply involved with me in this business. I guarantee
that this transaction will be executed under a legitimate arrangement that
will protect you from any breach of the law. The bank official will destroy
all documents of transaction immediately we receive this money leaving no
trace to any place. I will use my position and influence to obtain all legal
approvals for onward transfer of this money to your account with appropriate
clearance from the relevant ministries and foreign exchange departments.

At the conclusion of this business, you will be given 25% of the total amount,
70% will be for us,while 5% will be for expenses both parties might have
incurred during the process of transferring. I look forward to your earliest
reply. PLEASE, TREAT THIS PROPOSAL AS TOP SECRET. please do Reply to; johnxongeorge1@myway.com

Best Regards,

Johnson George.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam