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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

• About the 419 (Advance Fee) scam
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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:

• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "money laundering" ("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. )
  • "money transfer control number" (this will cost you money - be careful with upfront payments to anyone you only know through email, especially if they promise you a lot of money. )
  • "you are advice to " (this email uses bad English)
  • "affidavit " (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
  • "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!
• Western Union money transfer is completely untraceable and therefore is *not* safe to use with anyone you do not know personally. It is the preferred method of online criminals to collect money from their victims.
• This email lists mobile phone numbers. Use of such numbers is typical for scams because they allow criminals to conceal their true location. They can receive calls in an Internet cafe from where they send you emails, while pretending to be in some office.
  • +447045700809 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)

Fraud email example:

From: Freeman Blair <churchill_expressuk@yahoo.com>
Date: Wed, 1 Aug 2007 06:22:54 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: WRONGFUL WITH HOLDING YOUR OVER DUE PAYMENT (ACT ACCORDINGLY AND BE URGENT)



Churchill Express,
13G Hay Hall Road,
Rovex House,
Tyseley,Birmingham.
United Kindom.


ATTN:Hoh Jung

We are in receipt of your mail in content with your details for the transfer of your lottery winnings funds. You can now begin the final step of the claims process, which is the transferring of your cash prize into your Bank Account. This is to inform you that we are in possession of a certified cheque and the original copy of your winning certificate, together with a covering document (Money Laundering protection and Letter of Affidavit for Claims) from the British government stating that the money was obtained legally through their Lottery Promotion.This means that you have been officially cleared for payment by the Verifications Dept. at the headquarters of the Lottery Promotion . The parcel is a certified bonded cheque. Be rest assured that your check has been confirmed valid, true and transfer will be effected as soon as you meet with the necessary requirements.With regards to this,

The said amount claims £1,500.000 (one million five hundred pounds) will be wired to your bank account via swift transfer.Find details of your Account below:

Name: Hoh Jung
Bank:Augsburg Vereinsbank
Acct No:04278361
BLZ:423833
Bank address:Säbuhne Weg 88,Schülheim,41133,Federal Republic of Germany
Phone: 069 910 47300.

Condition:The fees of C.O.T (commission of transfer) Being charged by our transferring bank(i.e. £450 equivalent to 900 USD) will be paid by you.
Note that your prize is protected by a hardcover insurance policy, which makes it impossible to deduct any amount from the money before it has been remitted to you. This is in accordance with section 13(1)(n) of the National Gambling Act as adopted in 1993 and amended on 3RD July 1996 by the constitutional assembly.This is to protect winners and to avoid misappropriation of funds and win Situations. This means that the above charges cannot be deducted from the prize and hence must be provided by you before your prize is transferred to you.

You are to make the payment through Western Union Money Transfer so as to speed up the process of delivery. You are to locate the nearest western union agent to you and make the payment through the name of our accounts officer below

NAME OF ACCOUNT OFFICER:Larry Smithson


ADDRESS OF ACCOUNT OFFICE:Suite 210, Coborn House, 3 Coborn Road, Docklands, London, E3 2DA, UK


Endeavor to send to this office the following payment informations after you make your payment:

(1). Mtcn(Money Transfer Control Number)
(2). Senders Name and Address
(3). Receivers Name And Address
(4). Amount Paid
(5). Test Question and Answer(If any)



As regard to your question,be assured that nothing can go wrong with this transfer.Once we receive your response/payment information and confirm the receipt of payment,your won funds of 1.5 million pound stelings will immediately be wired into your Account and it will take just 24/48 hours to reflect in your Account.

All won funds not transfered within Four(4) working days from this communication will be returned to the lottery company as unclaimed.

Finally,you are advice to keep this transaction very confidential till your winnings has been wired into your Account and the claims process is finalized.Be warned as this is part of our security measure to avoid double claiming of winnings.


Mr Freeman Blair.
Head,Customer Proposition.
+447045700809
Open Mondays to Sunday
8 a.m - 9.p.m Daily
CHURCHILL EXPRESS SERVICES -The Best of British Services






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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam