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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

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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.

Click here to report a problem with this page.

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 fake company names, fake addresses, non-existent institutions/documents or other details have appeared in scams before:
  • "international court of justice" (not involved with lotteries)
• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "anti-terrorism certificate" ("anti-terrorist", "anti-money laundering" or "drug-free" certificates are a common way for criminals in fake lottery scams and other Advance Fee scams to get you to send money to them. There are no such certificates in the real banking world. )
  • "clear source of funds certificate" ("anti-terrorist", "anti-money laundering" or "drug-free" certificates are a common way for criminals in fake lottery scams and other Advance Fee scams to get you to send money to them. There are no such certificates in the real banking world. )
  • "certificates of origin of funds" ("anti-terrorist", "anti-money laundering" or "drug-free" certificates are a common way for criminals in fake lottery scams and other Advance Fee scams to get you to send money to them. There are no such certificates in the real banking world. )
  • "claims office" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "(ecowas)" (the name of a person or institution often appearing in 419 scams)
  • "ecowas " (the name of a person or institution often appearing in 419 scams)
  • "abuja" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
  • "cheque " (Beware of any scheme that involves cashing checks or money orders and then wiring a portion of the funds somewhere - you'll be liable for the entire amount if the checks or money orders turn out to be fake, even after you have received and forwarded cash. If it's a lottery prize, remember that real lotteries do not pay large prizes by check. They wire the money directly to your bank account and you do not pay for that. Many scammers promise a large check only in order to then demand payment of courier fees for a fake courier service. )
• This email message is a fake lottery scam. Consider the following facts about real lotteries:
  
  1. They don't notify winners by email.
  2. You can't win without first buying a lottery ticket.
  3. They don't randomly select email addresses to award prizes to.
  4. They don't use free email accounts (Yahoo, Hotmail, etc) to communicate with you.
  5. They don't tell you to call a mobile phone number.
  6. They don't tell you to keep your winnings secret.
  7. They will never ask a winner to pay any fees to receive a prize!
• 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.
  • ecowasgrantcounsellorng@yahoo.com.hk (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: Mrs Ella Stewart <officeofdonationsagent002@yahoo.it>
Date: Fri, 13 Jul 2007 17:03:56 +0200 (CEST)
Subject: Parcel Identification No.{CPEL/OWN/5687}


Concern Recipient:

The Action Aid International, established in the year 1977 by the
Multi-Million groups and now supported by the Economic Community for
West African States (ECOWAS), United Nations Organization (UNO) and the
European Union (EU) was conceived with the objective of human growth,
educational, and community development.

On behalf of the Donations Board we will like to say congratulations
once again . We do believe that your winnings will be put into good use
for community, educational and business development. On Behalf of the
Screening Committee of the Donations Board, I wish to formally announce
to you that you have successfully passed the Email Screening and
Verification Matching Test conducted for all online winners in your
Category. Hence you have therefore been cleared. Your cheque has been
issued and you can now claim your donation.

All necessary documents that will facilitate the clearance of your
cheque in your name has been processed. Your parcel contains the
following documents:
1.WINNING CHEQUE VALUED AT THE SUM OF $650,000
2.WINNING CERTIFICATE FROM THE DONATIONS BOARD.
3.CLEAR SOURCE OF FUNDS CERTIFICATES(C.S.F.C.)
4.ANTI-TERRORISM CERTIFICATES(A.T.C)
5.CERTIFICATES OF ORIGIN OF FUNDS(C.O.F.)
6.LETTER OF AFFIDAVITS FROM THE INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE, STATING
THAT THE WINNING WAS RECEIVED LEGALLY FROM THE UNIVERSAL DONATION
PROGRAM, AND DUELY SIGNED BY THE LEGAL ATTORNEY TO THE DONATIONS BOARD.
These documents have been securely sealed and packed for security
reasons which makes it impossible for anyone to view it's content until
its been delivered to you.

The Donations board has discovered a huge number of double claims due
to winners informing close friends relatives and third parties about
their winning and also sharing their pin numbers. As a result of this,
these friends try to claim the donation on behalf of the real winners.
You are hereby advised to please keep your winnings confidential until
you have finished proceedings and have safely claimed your winnings.
Please take note.

Your parcel with identification number: CPEL/OWN/5687 has been sent to
our affiliate claims office, because your winning falls within our
ECOWAS booklet, and you have been directed to contact the Ecowas
Counsellor in charge of claims dispatch providing him with the
following information to aid them in the shipment of your parcel to the
address which you will provide below;
FULL NAMES:_________________________________
ADDRESS: _________________________________
CITY:_________________________
STATE:__________________________________
ZIP: ______________
COUNTRY________________________________
SEX:_______________
AGE:__________________
MARITAL STATUS:_________________
NEXT OF KIN:____________________
OCCUPATION:________________________
E-MAIL ADDRESS:____________________________
TELEPHONE NUMBER:_____________________
Below is the contact information of the Ecowas counsellor in charge of
your winnings;
Ecowas Counsellor; Mr Donald Williams.
Ecowas head office.
Abuja Nigeria.
Email; ecowasgrantcounsellorng@yahoo.com.hk
IMPORTANT NOTICE: This office will not be responsible for any
outstanding fees for delivery. Services rendered by the delivery
company at the Ecowas region were your parcel will be shipped from are
to be paid by you the beneficiary and not the donations board please
take note. Have it in mind that your won prize cannot be deducted from.
This is because your cheque cannot be cashed by anyone. This is in
accordance with section 13(1)(n) of the donations act as adopted in the
year 1993 and amended on 3RD July 1996 by the constitutional assembly
in charge of the donations. This is to protect winners and to avoid
misappropriation of funds.

It is imperative that you add your identification number
{CPEL/OWN/5687} as the subject of any correspondence with the dispatch
office to ensure they respond in a timely manner. I will require a
concise update on proceedings with the dispatch office as soon as you
are in contact with them. If you need any assistance whatsoever, please
do not hesitate to let me know.

Best Regards,
Mrs. Ella Stewart
Donations Agent.



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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam