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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery 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.

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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 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)
  • ",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)
  • "is 100% risk free" (almost true for the criminal - arrests of online criminals are rare)
  • "barrister" (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
• This email message is a next of kin scam.
• Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.

Fraud email example:

From: (sent from abused email account)
Reply-To: patrickpamesq06@hotmail.com
Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2008 10:42:55 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Dear Friend


¡Tengo nueva dirección de correo!Ahora puedes escribirme a:barrpp_1cham5@yahoo.com.co



- Dear Friend, First I must solicit for your confidence in this transaction and wish to apologize to you if this mail might have wronged you in any means. And before I continue I wish to introduce my self officially, my name is Barrister Patrick Pam (ksj). A solicitor and the personal attorney to late Engr. Mark, he was a big time contractor here with one of the oil companies here in Nigeria, Herein-after referred to as my client. please see this site for more information on the death of late Engr Mark, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4368516.stm On the 22nd October 2005. My client, and his family were involved in the Belview Plane-crash, my client and his entire family unfortunately lost their lives in the Plane-crash accident, which also claimed several lives also. Since then I have made several enquiries to your embassy to locate any of my client's extended relatives, which has proved abortive after these several unsuccessful attempts then the need to contact you emanated. My main reason for contacting you is so that you may assist me in repatriating the money and property left behind by my client before they are confiscated or declared unserviceable by the bank where they are deposited. The bank where the deceased has a fixed deposit account with the total sum of $ 18,000,000 00 USD {Eighteen Million United States Dollars.} The said bank has issued me a final notice as his lawyer to provide the next of kin to my client or they will be left with no other choice than to confiscate his funds and have them transferred into the reserved account of the federal government of Nigeria for their private use as an unclaimed money. Since then I have been unsuccessful in locating any of my client's relatives for the past two years now. So in this effect I seek your consent to present you as the next of kin to my late client, so that the said fund as stated above i.e, the sum of $ 18 000,000,00 USD {Eighteen Million United States Dollars} can be paid to your account as the next of kin to my late client Engr. Mark as a foreigner because my client also is a foreigner, instead of leaving it for the bank and the federal agencies. I must let you know that this transaction is 100% risk free and safe, because we are going to process it legitimately. I have all the necessary and legal documents that will be used to back-up whatever claim we are going to make, all I require from you is your honest cooperation to enable us see this arrangement through. I guarantee that this will be executed under a legitimate arrangement that will protect you from any breach of the law. I have decided to give you 40% out of the total sum while 55% will be for me and my office and 5% had been mapped out to offset whatever expenses that we may likely to incure at the course of this transaction. Then if there will be any remainder from the 5% after our expensse we will donate it to the charitable organisation. Kindly supply me with the following information: *** YOUR FULL NAME.....*** YOUR.....CONTACT ADDRESS *** YOUR DIRECT TEL/FAX NUMBER{S} *** YOUR AGE AND OCCUPATION.... I will use this your information to draft application for claim and submit to the bank for the processing of the inheritance fund. I wait to hear from you urgently. Thanks and God bless us. Barrister Patrick Pam.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam