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. )
- "courier service" (Courier companies mentioned in 419 scams are always fake. They will have you send money to them, but won't deliver anything. )
- "abuja" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
- "lagos" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
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.
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.
- +2348188513660

Fraud email example:

From: High Commission-British <consultance@globomail.com>
Reply-To: commtish365@blumail.org
Date: Tue, 15 Nov 2011 08:27:33 +0800 (SGT)
Subject: =?utf-8?B?UmU6IMKjOTUwLDAwMC4wMCBHQlAgbWFwcGVkIG91dCBmb3IgcGF5bWVudCBi?=
=?utf-8?B?eSBBVE0gQ0FSROKAjw==?=

BRITISH
HIGH
COMMISSION

Metro
Plaza,Plot991/992
Zakari Maimalari
Street
Cadastral Zone AO,Central
Business
District,Abuja.
TEL:
+234 8188513660
EMAIL: britishhigh@britishhigh-commission.tk

Attention--Attention:Â

The NFIU mapped out
Â£950,000.00 GBP payment by ATM CARD
as the only
certified means of payment, hence your recompense amount has been issued
in the
ATM CARD which shall be sent to you together with your access code
Manuel on how you can access your card as soon as possible through which
you can
cash your money at any given ATM TERMINAL WORLDWIDE and the limit of
withdraw daily is Â£10,000.00.

We will send you an ATM Visa card which you will use to withdraw your
money in any ATM Center, Banks and Union Pay Credit outlets in the
world.

In the case whereby you do
not have a DHL ACCOUNT, you are advised to send the DHL Courier
delivery charges ofÂ $380.00 USDÂ to this
office to enable DHL Courier Service to
dispatch your ATM CARD to your doorstep today with the mailing address you will
provide to this office when getting back to us.
Â
The
Information for sending the DHL Courier Charges are shown below:Â Â
Â
NAME: NNAMAH EMMANUEL.
ADDRESS:Â LAGOS,
NIGERIA.Â
SENDER"S NAME:Â
TEXT QUESTION: THROUGH
ANSWER: WESTERN
UNION

AMOUNT SENT: $380.00 USD.
Â Â
After which you are to forward to this office the
information use in making the payment , such asÂ
Â Â
Your Full Name used in making the payment........Â
Your Address................................Â
Your direct telephone Contact...........Â
Money Control MTCN
Number.............Â
Text Question
and Answer...........
Â
Kindly make the payment through
western
union money transfer to enable us cash the money today and dispatch your
ATM CARD with the DHL service and give you the tracking number for you to wait
and receive you ATM CARD.Â
Â Â
Get back to me as soon as possible with your mailing
address and your direct telephone number as once for easy communication.Â
Â Â
You can call me for further assistance.Â
Your in Service,Â
Â Â
Agent Bowser Simmons
CONSULAR/DIPLOMAT
BRITISH HIGH COMMISSION
ABUJA.+234 8188563960.
EMAIL: britishhigh@britishhigh-commission.tk

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam