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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:
  1 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
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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 pounds" (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)
  • ",500,000" (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)
  • "00,000.00" (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)
  • "can i trust you?" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
• This email message is a next of kin scam.
• This email lists mobile phone numbers. Use of such numbers is typical for scams because they allow criminals to conceal their true location. They can receive calls in an Internet cafe from where they send you emails, while pretending to be in some office.
  • +447011136175 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)

Fraud email example:

From: info <info@activesme.com>
Reply-To: mrandrew242cole@8u8.com
Date: Thu, 19 Mar 2009 20:16:48 +0700
Subject: Dear Friend !

Dear Friend ,

I am pleased to get across to you for a very urgent and profitable business proposal which I believe will profit the both of us after completion.I contacted you after a careful thought that you might be capable of handling this business transaction which I explained below. The sum of ( £18,500,000.00 Million Pounds)is floating unclaimed in my bank.There is this immigrant Mr. Andreas Schranner,a property magnate who was based in the U.K., who happens to be one of our very good clients. On the 25Th of July 2000, Mr. Andreas Schranner, his wife Maria,their daughter Andréa Eich, her husband Christian, and their children Katharine and Maximilian all died in the air France concord plane crash bound for New York in their plan for a world cruise(SO SAD).Below is the link to the news of the unfortunate incident:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/859479.stm

All attempts to trace his next of kin were fruitless as his family was wiped out. My position here at my office requires me to investigate and I therefore made further investigations and discovered that Late Mr. Andreas Schranner, did not declare any next of kin or relation in all his official documents, including his bank deposit paperwork in my bank. According to the British Law. The money will be reverted to the ownership of the British government if nobody applies to claim the fund. To avoid this money being sent to the British treasury as unclaimed funds,and as I do not belong to that school of thought,I have decided to seek your assistance to have you stand as his next of kin so that the said fund ( £ 18,500,000.00 million pounds), would be released in your name as the next of kin and paid into your account.

We need to move fast. Once I get a positive response from you,I will send you the Application Release Letter and the bank's contact details, so that you can send the letter to them by email for them to release the funds to us. You can call me on : +447011136175 at anytime as it is my private mobile phone. I will wait for your call.I need you to send an immediate response via email as I am at my desk awaiting your response . I have attached my identification for your perusal so that you will know who you are dealing with . I will appreciate if you do same . I want us to complete this transaction within 6 days from now. All paperwork is ready set by my attorney.

All documents and proof that will have you claim this fund will be forwarded to you without any stress upon your response to this mail. more so,I want to inform you that I have agreed to offer you (£ 7.2M GBP) of the total sum, for the assistance and role you are going to play in this transaction, that is 40% from the total amount. ,The funds are in Pound sterling.
I need to know more about you, what do you do for a living? Can you handle this funds? Can I trust you? are you married with kids? I will also want you to send me your passport copy if you are serious and I will also send you mine. Trust is very important in this transaction. (£ 2.8M GBP) will be given to charity organizations in your country with your supervision while the remaining will be for me. Please send your confidential telephone and fax number in your reply to this business transaction. I we send another step of this transaction as soon as I get your positive response.

Warmest Regard,
Andrew Cole (Mr.)

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam