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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
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• Company names mentioned in 419 spam:
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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 deposit" (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)
  • "million us 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)
  • "abidjan" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
• This email message is a next of kin scam.

Fraud email example:

From: <eric_kamara11@centrum.sk>
Date:
Subject: From Mr Eric Kamara

=46rom Mr Eric Kamara
My name is Mr Eric Kamara, a Banker and accountant with a prime bank he=
re Abidjan. I am the personal accounts manager to Engr.Miller, a Nation=
al of your country, who used to work with an oil servicing company here=
in Cote D=92 Ivoire.
My client, his wife, and their three children were involved in the ill =
fated Kenya Airways crash in the coasts of Abidjan in January 2003 in w=
hich all passengers on board died.=20
Since then I have made several inquiries to your embassy to locate any =
of my clients extended relatives but has been unsuccessful After severa=
l unsuccessful attempts, I decided to trace his last name over the inte=
rnet, to see if I could locate any member of his family hence I contact=
ed you. Of particular interest is this huge deposit with our bank here =
in, where the deceased has an account valued at about ($8.5 million US =
dollars).
They have issued me a notice to provide the next of kin or the bank wil=
l declare the account unserviceable and thereby send the funds to the b=
ank treasury. Since I have been unsuccessful in locating the relatives =
for over last 2 years now, I will seek your consent to present you as t=
he next of kin of the deceased since you have the same last names, so t=
hat the proceeds of this account valued at ($8.5million US dollars) can=
be paid to you and then you and I can share the money.=20
All I require is your honest cooperation to enable us seeing this deal =
through. I guarantee that this will be executed under all legitimate ar=
rangement that will protect you from any breach of the law. In your rep=
ly mail, I want you to give me your full names, address, date of birth,=
telephone and fax numbers for proper communications.
Thanking you for your anticipated cooperation,
Mr Eric Kamara.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam