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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:
  • "dear friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "million 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)
  • "abidjan" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
• This email message is a next of kin scam.

Fraud email example:

From: "michel" <mrjeanluc@centrum.sk>
Date: Mon, 21 Jul 2008 13:15:12 +0200
Subject: FROM MR JEAN LUC MICHEL



Mr Jean-Luc Michel
Villa 112 Riviera 05 Cocody-Abidjan
Cote D'Ivoire,  West Africa
Dear Friend
    
      I am Mr  Jean-Luc Michel the managing director to the foreign  to one noble bank here in Abidjan the capital city of Cote D'Ivoire in West Africa.
On september 4TH 2003, a fixed deposit of 36 calender months was made in my branch valued at  $10.850 (TEN MILLION DOLLARS) by one   MR. WERNER  WATER  who  worked with the  oil company in saudi arabia, and after two years of making that fixed deposit he was no where to be found and upon maturity in 2004, a routine notification was sent to his forwarding address but there was no reply, after a month we sent a  reminder and finally we discovered from his current employee in saidi arabia that  MR.. WERNER  WATER  and his wife and three children was involved in an auto crash and unfortunately all the occupant in the vehicle  were dead, then on further investigation the board member of my bank was not able to trace the next of kin  to MR.. WERNER  WATER in germany and ever since then  this sum of $10.850 (TEN MILLION DOLLARS  ) has been floating as an unclaimed cash in my bank as all effort to trace his relative has heat the stone, and according to the law of my country that if by the end of five years and nobody come's for such money  the money will be reverted to the government tresure as an unclaimed money which will be the end of this year 2008.
 Since all effort to trace his relative for the past four years was not possible and i don't want this money to be reverted to the government, and it has not be possible to present anybody from my country to this account as the next of kin  because the man was a foriegner, that is the  reason i am seeking your  concient to present you as the next of kin to this account so that the proceed of these account can be paid to you then i can come over to your country for the disbursment and i will be compairsating you with fourty percent while i will take the remaining sixty percent.
All neccesary document that will be used as back up is  already arranged in other to keep out from any breach of the law.
PLEASE FURNISH ME WITH THE FOLLOWING:
1. FULL NAME
2. YOUR TELEPHONE NUMBER AND FAX NUMBER
3. YOUR CONTACT ADDRESS
4. AGE
YOUR URGENT RESPONSE WILL BE HIGHLY ANTICIPATED AND
APPRECIATED.
BEST REGARDS,

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam