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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

The so-called "419" scam is a type of fraud dominated by criminals from Nigeria and other countries in Africa. Victims of the scam are promised a large amount of money, such as a lottery prize, inheritance, money sitting in some bank account, etc.

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.

Keep in mind that scammers DO NOT use their real names when defrauding people.
The criminals either abuse names of real people or companies or invent names or addresses.
Any real people or companies mentioned below have NO CONNECTION to the scammers!

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:

Fraud email example:

From: william barry <william.barry519@msn.com>
Reply-To: <william_barry01@yahoo.com>
Date: Wed, 4 Nov 2009 03:23:29 +0000
Subject: Please Read Carefully,And Reply Urgent

















Please Read Carefully,And Reply Urgent































FROM WILLIAM BARRY
FOREIGN REMITTANCE MANAGER,
BANK OF AFRICA(BOA)
OUAGADOUGOU ,
BURKINA FASO .

ATTN: PLEASE!

I know that this email will come to you as a surprise and I hope that you will not expose or betray this trust and confident that I’m about to repose on you for mutual benefits of our families. I am the manager of bill and exchange at the foreign remittance department of Bank of Africa Burkina Faso.

I need your urgent assistance in transferring the sum of ($8.2USD) eight million two hundred thousand United States dollars to your account within fourteen banking days. In my department I discovered an abandoned sum of ($8.2USD) eight million two hundred thousand United States dollars. In an account that belongs to one of our foreign customer who died without any nomination of the next of kin to the bank, Since we got information about his death, we have been expecting his next of kin to come over and claim his money because we cannot release it unless somebody applies for it as next of kin or relation to the deceased as indicated in our banking policies but unfortunately for years now non of his relations has applied for the claim..

It is therefore upon this discovery that I decided to make this business proposal to you and release the money to you as the next of kin or relation to the deceased for safety and subsequent disbursement since nobody is coming for it and I don't want this money to go into the Bank treasury as unclaimed Bill.

The request of foreigner as next of kin in this business is occasioned by the fact that the customer was a foreigner and a Burkina be cannot stand as next of kin to a foreigner. I have agreed that 30 % of this money will be for you as foreign partner, in respect to the provision of a foreign account, 10 % will be set aside for expenses incurred during the business and 60 % would be for me. There after I will visit your country for disbursement according to the percentages indicated.

Therefore to enable the immediate transfer of this fund to you as arranged, you must apply first to the bank as relations or next of kin of the deceased indicating your bank name, your bank account number, your private telephone and fax number for easy and effective communication.

Upon receipt of your reply, william_barry01@yahoo.com

I will give you full details on how the business will be executed. Please kindly contact me as soon as you receive this proposal.

Yours Faithfully,
Mr,William Barry


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