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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:
  • "will come to you as a surprise" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "hundred thousand united states 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)
  • "contact me immediately" (they are rushing you so you don't have time to think properly)
  • "foreign remittance department" (Banks mentioned in 419 scams are always fake (real banks don't communicate using mobile phones or free webmail addresses))
• This email message is a next of kin scam.

Fraud email example:

From: Mrs Tessy Eke <tessyeke3@hotmail.com>
Reply-To: <mikeojo_esq4@yahoo.co.uk>
Date: Fri, 21 Sep 2007 13:24:14 +0000
Subject: From: Mrs Tessy Eke



AUDIT AND ACCOUNTS UNITECO BANK PLC,ABUJA, NIGERIA.+234 803 480 908Hello, I am Mrs Tessy Eke, a staff of Bills and Exchange at the Foreign Remittance Department of Eco Bank Nigeria. In my department, we discovered an abandoned sum of (US$8.5M) Eight Million, Five hundred thousand United States Dollars only, in an account that belongs to late Mr. Kenneth, who died in a ghastly car accident in 2005. Since we got information about his death, the bank has been expecting his next of kin to come over and claim his money because we cannot release it unless somebody applies as a next of kin or relation to the deceased as indicated in our banking guidelines. Unfortunately we learnt that he did not name any beneficiary to his account before his sudden death. It is therefore upon this discovery that I and the attorney representing the estate now decided to contact you, and having the same last name with him, it makes it easier for the money to be released to you since nobody is fronting for the money and we do not want this funds to go into disbursement account as unclaimed bill. It is possible that you may not have any direct relationship with him, but that will not change any thing. The banking law and guidelines here stipulates that if such money remained unclaimed after four (4) years the money will be transferred into the government account as unclaimed fund. We shall negotiate on the percentage split of the funds as we proceed. Therefore to enable immediate release of the inheritance to you as arranged, you should contact me immediately via email for further directives on how to go about actualizing the claim in your name. I look forward to your immediate response. Best regardsMrs Tessy Eke. N/B: I know that this email will come to you as a surprise, considering the fact that it is unsolicited. I quite understand your concern over this matter considering the happenings all over the world; I want to assure you that this is a 100% legitimate and risk free transaction
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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam