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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

• About the 419 (Advance Fee) scam
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• Phone numbers used by 419 scammers
  (+225 +229 +234 +27 +31 +32 +34 +44 other)
• 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:
  • "dear friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "from the desk of" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "foreign remittance manager" (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)
  • "top secret" (scammers urge victims to keep the transaction secret because they don't want anyone to point out to them that it is a scam)
  • "god-fearing " (scammers in West Africa like to use religious phrases)
• 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.
  • rafiqcompaore@yahoo.fr (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: rafiq_c10@kwankwaso.info
Reply-To: rafiqcompaore@yahoo.fr
Date: Wed, 13 Aug 2008 16:45:37 +0000
Subject: FROM THE DESK OF RAFIQ COMPAORE.


FROM THE DESK OF RAFIQ COMPAORE.
AUDITING AND ACCOUNTING MANAGER.
AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK.(ADB)
OUAGADOUGOU BURKINA FASO
WEST AFRICA.
RE-REMITTANCE OF $29.2 MILLION USD
Dear Friend,
I am Mr.Rafiq Compaore,from Burkina Faso in west Africa.I got your e-mail
contacts from computerised datas after my extensive search via the website
for a God-fearing and trust-worthy person to bestow this transaction which
is the only hope of our survival into his or her hands.When i got your
address,I prayed and meditated fervently over it and i commited it into
the hands of God that you should be the rightful person to help us out
before I made up my decision to contact you.

I am The Manager of Auditing Department of Our Bank ,Ouagadougou Burkina
Faso.In my department we discovered an abandoned usd$29.2 M, In an account
that belongs to this our foreign customer who died along with his wife and
and children in the plane crash.Since we got information about his death,
we have been expecting his next of kin to come over and claim his money
because we cannot release it unless somebody applies for it as the next of
kin or relation to the deceased, as indicated in our banking guidelines
but unfortunately we learnt that all his supposed next of kin or relation
died alongside with him in the plane crash leaving nobody behind for the
claim.It is therefore upon this discovery that I decided to make this
business proposals to you and release the money to you as next of kin or
relation to the deceased for safety and subsequent disbursement since
nobody is coming for it because I don't want this money to go into the
bank treasury as unclaimed Bill.

The banking law and guidelines here stipulates that if suchmoney remains
unclaimed after five years, the money will be transferred into the bank
treasury as unclaimed fund.The request of foreigner in this transaction is
necessary because our late customer was a foreigner and a Burkinabe cannot
stand as next of kin to a foreigner,I agree that 30% of this money will be
for you as foreigner partner in respect to the provision of a foreign
account.10% will be set aside for expenses incurred during the business
and 60% would be for me , after which I shall visit your country for
disbursement according to the percentages indicated.Therefore to enable
the immediate transfer of this fund to you as I have arranged,you will
furnished me with a good receiving account details where the money will be
transfered,
(a) Full name, country, address and photo (passport/driving license)
(b) Your private telephone and fax numbers for confidentiality and easy
communication.
Upon receipt of your reply, I will send to you by fax or e-mail a text of
the application which you shall retype and fax to our foreign remittance
manager,for easy execution of the transaction.

I will not fail to bring to your notice that this transaction is 100%
hitch-free on both side. As all required arrangement have been made for
the transfer and more so all the documents backing this claim will be
supplied to you after you might have applied.Please I would like you you
keep this transaction confidential and as a top secret as you may wish to
know that I am a senior Bank official.
Trusting to hear from you immediately.
Yours Sincerely,
Rafiq Compaore
my private e-mail rafiqcompaore@yahoo.fr

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam