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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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• 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:

• 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:
  • "dear friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "from the desk of" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "will come to you as a surprise" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "your urgent reply" (they are rushing you so you don't have time to think properly)
  • "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.
  • dropanwest551@yahoo.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From:
Date:
Subject: FROM THE DESK OF Dr OPAN .C. WEST


FROM THE DESK OF Dr OPAN .C. WEST
AUDITING AND ACCOUNTING MANAGER,
BANK OF AFRICA (B.O.A)
BENIN COTONOU REPUBLIC.
EMAIL /dropanwest551@yahoo.com
Trust/Confidential proposal

Dear Friend,

Please this is important and very urgent i have an urgent transaction
of $22.6 million usd to transfer to your nominated account, I am Dr
OPAN .C.WEST, i am an Auditor, with Accounting Department,BANK OF AFRICA
(B.O.A) here in Cotonu, Benin Republic.

Aftergoing through some old files in the records, I discovered that if
I do not remit this money out urgently it will be forfeited for
nothing. The owner of this account  unfortunately died in the plane crash of
Union
Transport Africains Flight Boeing 727 in Cotonou, Benin republic on
the
december 25,2003. You will read more stories about the crash on
visiting this website www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/africa/12/26/benin.crash/
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 his company does not know anything about this account and
the amount involved is (USD 22.6 MILLION) Twenty two million Six  Hunderd
Thousend United States Dollars.

I want to transfer the USD 22.6 MILLION) Twenty two million Six 
Hunderd Thousend United States Dollars 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 bank here, but
can
only be approved to any foreign account because the money is in US dollars
and
the former owner of the account is a foreigner too.

I know that this message will come to you as a surprise as we don't
know ourselves before,but be rest assure that this is life time
business for both of us even for our generation to come .

With believe in God that you will never let me down in this business.
You are the only person that I have contacted in this business, so
please reply urgently so that I will inform you the next step to take
urgently, Send also your private telephone and fax number .

I want us to meet face to face or sign a binding agreement to bind us
together so that you can receive this money into a foreign account or
any account of your choice where the fund will be safe. I will fly to
your country for withdrawal and sharing and other investments.

I am contacting you because of the need to involve a foreigner with
foreign account and foreign beneficiary.

I need your full co-operation to make this work fine because the
management is ready to approve this payment  to any foreigner who has
correct information about this account, which I will feed you with, if you
are
able and with capability to handle such amount in strict confidence
and trust according to my instructions and advice for our mutual benefit
because this opportunity will never come again in my life.

I need truthful person in this business because I don't want to make
mistake I need your strong assurance and trust. With my position now
in the office I can transfer this money to any foreign reliable account,
which you can provide with assurance that this money will be intact pending
my
physical arrival in your country for sharing.

And i want to remaind you that your share has been carculated at 35%
of the total sum. I'am waiting for your urgent reply so that i will give
you more information about this deal. Please reply back to my private
email address(dropanwest551@yahoo.com)

With regards,
Dr OPAN .C. WEST.(B.O.A)

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam