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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

• About the 419 (Advance Fee) 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:
  • "into your nominated bank account" (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)
  • "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)
  • "confidential business" (scammers urge victims to keep the transaction secret because they don't want anyone to point out to them that it is a scam)
  • "i got your address from " (this SPAM email was probably sent to thousands of people)
  • "contract award committee" (the name of a person or institution often appearing in 419 scams)
• This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
  

Fraud email example:

From: lawson stanly <lawson.stanly70@msn.com>
Reply-To: <lawson.stanly@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 16 Mar 2009 09:05:00 +0000
Subject: Greetings,



Greetings,

REQUEST FOR AN URGENT CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP After due deliberation with my colleagues, I have decided to forward to you this business proposal. We want a reliable person who could assist us to transfer the sum of Thirty Six Million United States Dollars ($36,000,000) into his / her account.

This fund resulted from an over-invoiced bill from contracts awarded by us under the budget allocation to my Ministry and this bill has been approved for payment by the concerned Ministries.
The contract has since been executed, commissioned and the contractor was paid the actual cost of the contract.

We are left with the balance US$36M as part of the over-invoiced amount which we have deliberately over estimated for our own use. But under our protocol division, civil servants are forbidden to operate or own foreign accounts; secondly, the contract was executed by a foreign firm. This is why I am contacting you to be our custodian for this fund. As you may want to know and to make you less curious, I got your address from address in internet site that portrayed your (you) establishment in good light.

I am the Chairman of the Contract Award Committee (CAC) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). This transaction is very much free from all sorts of RISKS and TROUBLE from my Government. We the N.N.P.C. Officials involved in this deal have put in many years in service to this Ministry. We have been exercising patience for this opportunity for so long and to most of us this is a life time opportunity we cannot afford to miss. You need not to worry about the responsibilities of transferring this fund into your account, for all the administrative steps needed for the transfer of this fund into your designated bank account will be done by me. I and my colleagues have agreed to COMPENSATE you duly if agreement is reached by both of us.

We decided that one of our wife’s will come to your country to arrange for our share, upon the confirmation from you that the money has been credited into your nominated bank account.

Consequent upon your acceptance of this proposal, kindly confirm your interest by mail to me. Your indication to me of your sincere and serious interest will enable me send you the PROCEDURE FOR OPERATION.

NOTE: In the event of your inability to handle this transaction please inform us so that we can look for another reliable person who can assist in this respect.

It might surprise you why we choose you and trusted you for this transaction. Yes, we believe that good friends can be discovered and business like this can not be realized without trust. This is why we have decided to trust you for this transaction.
We are looking forward to doing this transaction with you.

Be further informed that everyone's interest and security had been considered before you were contacted, so be rest assured and feel free to go into this transaction with us.

But let Honesty and Trust be our watchword throughout this transaction and your prompt reply will be highly appreciated.

Thank you and God bless.

LAWSON STANLEY

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam