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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.

Click here to report a problem with this page.

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 sir/madam" (a standard Nigerian greeting phrase)
  • "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)
• This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
  
• 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.
  • peter_okonu@yahoo.co.uk (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: peter okonu <petokonu1@msn.com>
Reply-To: <peterokonu23@hotmail.com>
Date: Mon, 9 Mar 2009 10:11:12 +0000
Subject: BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP



Dear sir/madam,


Please do not think this email is wrongly sent to you.I have elibrately sent it to you to solicit your assistance in my present ambition.For introduction sake, my name is Dr.Peter Okonu.I am the financial controller of my coporation.


I have presently used this my position to acquire the sum of Twenty Five Million united states dollars.Please here in this proposal, I want to be brief but I must say that my purpose of writing this email to you to solicit your help so I can transfer this fund out of my country.Presently I have kept this fund in a suspense account where no one can dictate it because I cannot keep it in my local account.I am a serving officer so I am forbidden by law to own a forign private account.So I hope to secure and operate a foregn account through you.


Please do not just read and throw this information away thinking it is not true.By the time you reply to me, I will give you full details and I will move this fund to your bank account immediately.Please I am in distress, I need your assistance so that my effort in getting this fund out of the treasury will not be in vain.I have been hiding this
fund since four years now and this is not good for me.


I have very well considered that I must compensate you for this assistance which I will discourse with you in details in course of our discussion.Please I do not want to write much here now,I expect to receive your positive reply then I shall discuss this at lenght with you.I know you may be suprised and think this information is by error to you or you may think this is just an internet junk,but I must make it more clear to you after I receive your reply and I shall send you every neccessary information you may require to know.


Please I need your partnership and assistance to secure this fund.Note that as I receive your reply, I shall arrange a meeting for both of us to meet as there is no way we can get this done without physical contact.I am ready to come to meet you,please reply through my alternative email as :peter_okonu@yahoo.co.uk.


Dr.Peter Okonu.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam