419 Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam (2006-01)

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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.

Click here to report a problem with this page.

Some comments by the Scam-O-Matic about the following email:

The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "insurance fee " (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 send money by Western Union or MoneyGram to people you do not know personally - NO EXCEPTIONS! Instant wire transfer services are not meant to be used with strangers because they offer no protection against fraud. That is precisely why the criminals want you send money that way. )
- "western union" (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 send money by Western Union or MoneyGram to people you do not know personally - NO EXCEPTIONS! Instant wire transfer services are not meant to be used with strangers because they offer no protection against fraud. That is precisely why the criminals want you send money that way. )
- "mtcn" (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 send money by Western Union or MoneyGram to people you do not know personally - NO EXCEPTIONS! Instant wire transfer services are not meant to be used with strangers because they offer no protection against fraud. That is precisely why the criminals want you send money that way. )
This email message is a fake lottery scam. Consider the following facts about real lotteries:
1. They don't notify winners by email.
2. You can't win without first buying a lottery ticket.
3. They don't randomly select email addresses to award prizes to.
4. They don't use free email accounts (Yahoo, Hotmail, etc) to communicate with you.
5. They don't tell you to call a mobile phone number.
6. They don't tell you to keep your winnings secret.
7. They will never ask a winner to pay any fees to receive a prize!
Western Union money transfer is completely untraceable and therefore is *not* safe to use with anyone you do not know personally. It is the preferred method of online criminals to collect money from their victims.

Fraud email example:

From: "Mr. Nelson Jones" <nelson.jones1@live.com>
Date: Sat, 27 Mar 2010 20:27:26 +0100
Subject: =?windows-1256?Q?DELIVERY_O?= =?windows-1256?Q?PTIONS=FE=FE=FE=FE?=
=?windows-1256?B?/v7+/v7+/v7+/g==?= =?windows-1256?B?/v7+/v7+/v4=?=

Attention:

Thank you for the information you forwarded to me for mailing of your ATM CARD to you. However find below the cost of delivery and the cost of insurance,these documents have been securely sealed and packed for security reasons which makes it impossible for anyone to view it until its been delivered to you, To enable them acknowledge the correct writing of the bearers name.

make sure the delivery address is valid.

DHL Delivery Service Charge: $45
Insurance fee: $250
Total: $295

FEDEX
Fedex Delivery charges:$43
Insurance fee: $250
Total: $293

UPS

UPS Delivery charges$40
Insurance fee: $250
Total: $290

All three options are 48hours delivery after shipment

NB: THE INSURANCE FEE (US$250) IS ABSOLUTELY COMPULSORY, AND MUST BE PAID BEFORE THE SHIPMENT OF YOUR PARCEL WHILE THE MAILING FEE SHOULD BE PAID TO THE DELIVERY AGENT THAT WILL DELIVER YOUR PARCEL TO YOUR DOORSTEP).

Due to the diplomatic content of your parcel, it will be illegal to ship it without being insured as it will violate the federal delivery rules governing diplomatic parcel delivery. This means payment for the insurance fee must be made before shipment to avoid risk. This is because of some bad experience we had in the past. We can not afford to re-issue your ATM CARD if anything goes wrong. In this case payment for the insurance fee is absolutely compulsory, while the mailing fee should be paid to any of the above listed delivery company you choose at the point of delivery.

Your prize is protected by a hardcover insurance policy, which makes it impossible to deduct any amount from the money before remittance. This means that the above insurance charges cannot be deducted from the prize and hence must be provided by you before your parcel is shipped. This is in accordance with section 13(1)(n) of the international gambling act as adopted in 1993 and amended on 3RD july 1996 by the constitutional assembly.This is to protect receipients and to avoid misappropriation of funds.

You are to choose the one you prefer to deliver your package.

Here is the payment detail that you will use in making the payment Via western union so that your ATM CARD can be insure and then send to you via any of the above options.
Information for Western Union:
Receivers Name: Osas Daniel
Receivers Address:Lagos-Nigeria.
Text Question: Who is the greatest?
Text Answer: God
MTCN:...............................????

Send the MTCN As soon as the payment is done to enable me dispatch your ATM CARD and send you the tracking number.

Regard,
Nelson Jones

_________________________________________________________________
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Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam