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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:

• 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:
  • "i will like you to " (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • ",000,000" (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)
  • "your urgent reply" (scammers rush victims so they don't have time to think properly)
  • "confidential business" (scammers urge victims to keep the transaction secret because they don't want anyone to point out to them that it is a scam)
  • "utmost confidentiality" (scammers urge victims to keep the transaction secret because they don't want anyone to point out to them that it is a scam)
  • "observe utmost confidentiality" (scammers urge victims to keep the transaction secret because they don't want anyone to point out to them that it is a scam)
  • "i have a new email address!" (this SPAM email was probably sent to thousands of people)
  • "attorneys " (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
  • "central bank of nigeria" (the name of a person or institution often appearing 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.
  • mr.jcharles1@yahoo.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "Mr. Jeremiah Charles" <mr.jcharles1@yahoo.com>
Reply-To: mr.jcharles@ymail.com
Date: Thu, 3 Jul 2008 21:07:58 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: From Foreign Affairs Department (C.B.N)


I have a new email address!You can now email me at: mr.jcharles1@yahoo.com



JPMorgan Chase, 13th Floor, 125 London Wall, London, EC2Y 5AJ.
















- Good Day, Please pardon me for intruding your privacy; I strongly believe that God has broken the barriers and walls that separate us. Just as the world is fast becoming a global village I located you through the internet your profile was so fascinating hence I have to contact you immediately for a very crucial matter that needs your urgent attention and cooperation. At this point I think it is imperative to introduce my self to you, I am Mr. Jeremiah Charles the Director of Foreign Affairs Department Central Bank of Nigeria. I have a very urgent & confidential business proposition for you & for our overall mutual interest. Subsequent to the resent development in Nigeria, considering the 7 point agenda of our newly elected president to make Nigeria the lead in economy in Africa, a notification was sent to this apex bank by the senate committee on contract review/award committee to pay all the contractors that the Federal government is owing. My office was assigned with the obligation to locate all the contractors for payment which was successful except that we where unable to locate one Mr. Bruno Edwards an American oil consultant/contractor with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation. We sent a routine notification to his forwarded address but got no reply. After a month we sent a reminder, & finally we discovered that Bruno Edwards died few months after he executed a contract for Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) On further investigation, I found out that he did not leave a WILL & all attempts to trace his next of kin were fruitless. I therefore made further investigation & discovered that Mr. Bruno did not declare any next of kin in all his official documents. The sum of $45,000,000 USD which is the contract value awarded to Mr. Bruno shall be confiscated if no one comes forward to claim it. And according to Nigerian Laws, at the expiration of seven years, the money will revert to the ownership of the Nigerian government if nobody applies to claim the fund. Consequently, my proposal is that, I will like you as a foreigner to stand in as a next of kin of Mr. Bruno Edwards so that you can help me receive this money; you have nothing to fear as all modalities to accredit you as the instantaneous beneficiary as the next of Kin to Mr. Bruno shall be put in place, be rest assured that the method of documentation shall protect you from any breach of the law. This is simple: 1. I will like you to provide me immediately with your full names & address so that the attorney will prepare the necessary documents & affidavit, which will put you as next of kin. 2. I shall employ the services of two attorneys for drafting & signing of the WILL and obtain the necessary documents and letter of probate/administration in your favour for the transfer. The money will be paid into your account for us to share in the ratio of 60% for me and 40% for you. There is no risk at all as the attorney and my position will do the paperwork for this transaction. If you are interested, please reply immediately, I shall then provide you with more details and relevant documents that will help you understand. PLEASE OBSERVE UTMOST CONFIDENTIALITY, and be rest assured that this would be most profitable for both of us because I shall require your assistance to invest my share in your country. Awaiting your urgent reply, please save me the anxiety of endless waiting. God bless you, Regards, Mr. Jeremiah Charles. Director of Foreign Affairs Department Central Bank of Nigeria.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam