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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
  (+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:
  • "a security company " (this will cost you money - be careful with upfront payments to anyone you only know through email, especially if they promise you a lot of money. Never ever send money by Western Union or MoneyGram to people you do not know personally. )
  • "hundred thousand united state 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)
  • "united state dollar" (this email uses bad English)
  • "abidjan" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
• This email message is a orphan 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.
  • paulineaji@gmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: =?utf-8?q?Miss=20Pauline=20Aji?= <paaji001@yahoo.com.co>
Reply-To: paulineaji@gmail.com
Date: Mon, 15 Dec 2008 22:47:40 -0800 (PST)
Subject: Please help me.


¡Tengo nueva dirección de correo!Ahora puedes escribirme a:paaji001@yahoo.com.co



- Compliments of the day.I am Pauline Aji, a young girl from Cote d'Ivoire in West Africa . I am living in Abidjan the economic capital of Cote d'Ivoire . I am the only child of late Mr & Mrs Williams Aji of the Republic of Cote d'Ivoire . My mother died when i was a kid and my father was poisoned to death recently by his business associate after he was appointed the chairman of cocoa dealers association in my capital city. When my father was alive he was a well known supplier of Agric equipments and also a wealthy cocoa merchant based in Cote d'Ivoire otherwise known as Ivory Coast . If i can say now that i am an orphan that is the main reason i am contacting you for assistance for investment at my disposal. I want to relocate to your country to protect myself from my wicked uncle who is after my life because of my inheritance from my late parents.I wish you can grant me favour to transfer my inherited money valued at US$3.5million (Three Million Five Hundred Thousand United State dollars) which my late father deposited in a security company with a branch here in the Republic of Benin. I want your assistance to transfer the money to your nominated account so that i can come over there to further my education while you help me to invest in productive investments under your directives. My late father gave me information of the deposit when he was about to die, also he gave me relevant documents which he signed with the bank during the deposit. I went to the security company and they made me to understand that my late father deposited the money in the fixed suspense account for onward transfer, therefore, unless the money is transferred out i am not permitted to touch or withdraw money from the account until i reach 25 years according to agreement on the deposit. The only option given to me by the security company is to appoint my guardian or foreign partner for immediate release and transfer of the money. This is why i am seeking for your assistance for you to represent my guardian or my late father's foreign business partner so that i can appoint you to the bank for the transfer of the money to your account.Presently, i am no longer living in my family house, i have relocated to a church in the Republic of Benin to avoid my wicked uncle persistent problems and to seek a way to retrieve my inheritance from the branch of the security company. Please i want you to help me with all your heart to achieve the transaction so that i can come to live and further education there while you invest the money for me. I promise to give you a substantial amount of the total money for your assistance after the transaction and you will always have reward in any profit of the investment. I am hopefully waiting to hear from you urgent so that i can furnish you with more details. Thanks for your anticipated gesture.Please email me on personal email id below:Email:(paulineaji@gmail.com)Am waiting. Miss Pauline Aji

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam