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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:

• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "dear sir/madam" (a standard Nigerian greeting phrase)
  • "i will like you to " (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
• This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
  

Fraud email example:

From: David Richard <darich_11@yahoo.com>
Date: Mon, 23 Apr 2007 08:06:08 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Confidential


Dear Sir/Madam,

Please I wish to humbly solicit for your assistance and business know-how to actualise this transaction. I am a regional bank manager of a bank in the West African region (name of the bank withheld for obvious reasons) and I have a business proposition below which I will like you to go through carefully, make up your mind and give me an urgent reply if you are satisfied to transact with me.

In the year 2005, a businessman (Mr. K. E. Clarke) made a Fixed Deposit of US$12,060,000.00 (Twelve Million and Sixty Thousand United States Dollars) in my branch office. Unfortunately before the maturity date he passed on after a brief illness and since then this fund US$12,060,000.00 have been in the bank under my watchful eyes as the account officer of the account and the interest is being rolled over with the principal sum at the end of each year. Up until this time that I am writing this to you, no one has ever come forward to put up a claim due to the man's childlessness/relation to stand-in as his next-of-kin and he did not indicate thus in his bank deposit form.

My writing you therefore, is to solicit and propose that you stand-in as his next of kin or a co-investor being a foreigner to claim this fund ($12.060m), such that this fund does not revert to the government as custodian of such funds in the event that nobody applies to claim it within the next six months or thereabout.

Upon your willingness to transact, we could discuss in advance our relationship regarding the compensatory aspect of the business, which will now lead to me providing more detail information regarding the transaction to you, to enable you have a clearer picture.

Thank you for reading through while I await your return mail please.

My regards,

D. Richard


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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam