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:

This email uses a separate reply address that is different from the sender address. Spammers use this to get replies even when the original spam sending accounts have been shut down. Also, sometimes the sender addresses are legitimate looking but fake and only the reply address is actually an email account controlled by the scammers.
The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "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. )
- "money transfer control number" (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 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
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: =?UTF-8?Q?Western_Union=C2=AE_Money_Transfer?= <info@westernunion.org>
Reply-To: westernunion4@she.com
Date: Wed, 09 Nov 2011 09:43:18 -0300
Subject: YOUR KIND ATTENTION IS NEEDED TO CLAIM YOUR COMPENSATION FUND WORTH (1.5
MILLION EUROS) VIA WESTERN UNION

Western Union Money Transfer (R) WEBSITE: WWW.WESTERNUNION.COM
EMAIL: info@westernunion-money-transfer.co.cc EMAIL:
westernunion4@cash4u.com Attn Dear Beneficiary This is to inform you
that the Bureau of the African Union (AU), ECOWAS, etc. International
Monetary Fund has finally you compensated after a brief meeting in
Switzerland with over cooperating partners around the world with the
total sum of 1,500.000. 00 Euros (one million five hundred thousand
euros) under the Trust Fund for Refugees in Africa (ARTF) programmed,
Accra-Ghana. This allowance is to leave you so you can take care of at
least the privilege, as the house orphanage, widow, widower, and these
people who are serious about the needs out there in your country Your
compensation was we sell Western Union Money Transfer by the President
of the AU (President Obiang Nguema) to be transferred to you through
our Money Transfer namely the control number (MTCN) One hundred people
were selected at random by e-mail contact
with various parts of the
world was given this award compensation payment, and you happen to be
one of the candidates selected to participate in this year 2011 award
compensation programmed. Among the beneficiaries of One hundred, 43
people have received their funds through (MTCN) issue a daily basis,
this week is country to receive your prize and that is why we are
contacting you today to come to claim your first (MTCN) of (5000.00
Euros). You are to receive a daily allowance of (5000.00 Euros) per
day, because that's what we WESTERN UNION MONEY TRANSFER issue daily.
We hereby request that you send the following information to receive
your first payment from us Your full name ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
... ... ... ... ... Sex / gender ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
... ... ... ... ... Date of birth ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
... ... ... ... Country / Destination ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
Occupation ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... Phone
...
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... Upon receipt of the requested
information, we will therefore proceed to the processing of your funds
transfer, please note that each MTCN (Money Transfer Control Number)
will be transferred to you with the sum of 5000 Euros (five thousand
euros) you are entitled to 10 numbers received MTCN transfer per day
amounting to the sum of EUR 50,000 (fifty thousand euros) Again
congratulations and we hope to hear from you as soon as possible.
Yours in service Western Union Money Transfer Western Union Money
Transfer (R). Western Union (R) Send Money with Western Union in the
world of money transfer services, money transfer is done within 15-20
minutes and the bank account is not required. We only transfer via
Western Union, no bank transfer.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam