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. )
- "moneygram" (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 gram" (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. )
- ",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)
- "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.
MoneyGram money transfer is completely untraceable and therefore is *not* safe to use with anyone you do not know personally. Along with Western Union it is a 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.
- +2348030922335 (Nigeria, prepaid mobile phone)
This email lists free webmail addresses. Use of such addresses is typical for scams. Lotteries, banks and any but the smallest of companies do not normally use such addresses. Criminals use them to anonymously send and receive email at Internet cafes.
- mr.paulsmith319@yahoo.com (Yahoo; can be used from anywhere worldwide)

Fraud email example:

From: Delivery Company <drkennethbrown.ofcbn570@gmail.com>
Reply-To: jamesugochukwu983@gmail.com
Date: Wed, 21 Jan 2015 11:54:29 +0100
Subject: IN REGARD TO YOUR ATM MASTER CARD PACKAGE WITH U.P.S SAN FRANCISCO,
CALIFORNIA USA

IN REGARD TO YOUR ATM MASTER CARD PACKAGE WITH U.P.S SAN FRANCISCO,
CALIFORNIA USA

I RECEIVED AN EMAIL ALERT FROM UPS SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA USA IN REGARD
TO YOUR PACKAGE WHICH HAVE BEEN WITH THEM FOR TWO WEEKS NOW AND THE
INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING
AGENT IN CHARGE PLANNED TO RETURN YOUR PACKAGE TO THE FEDERAL MINISTRY
OF FINANCE OF NIGERIA. THE TOTAL AMOUNT IN YOUR ATM MASTER CARD
CONTAIN IS $4.5 MILLION USD AND THIS INCLUDE INTEREST RATE UP TILL
DATE.THE MASTER CARD WAS PROGRAMMED TO HAVE ACCESS GLOBALLY WHICH YOU
CAN MAKE WITHDRAW OR TRANSACTION IN ANY PART OF THE WORLD.

IT SEEMS YOU DON'T WANT TO SHOW ANY SERIOUSNESS TOWARDS THE SHIPMENT
OF YOUR PACKAGE THAT'S WHY HE WANT TO RETURN IT AND HE NEED PERMISSION
FROM ME FIRST BEFORE HE WILL RETURN THE PACKAGE. I ORDER HIM TO STOP
AND I ALSO ASSURED HIM THAT I WILL MAKE SURE THE CHARGE FEE REQUIRED TO
ENABLE THE SHIPMENT FEE WHICH IS $97.00 WILL BE PAID AND THIS WILL BE THE
LAST FEE REQUIRED FROM YOU.

IN REGARD TO YOUR ATM MASTER CARD PACKAGE WHICH WORTH $4,500,000,00 MILLION
USD
I WILL HELP YOU AND MAKE SURE YOU RECEIVE IT AND MY INVESTIGATION
SHOWS YOU HAVE SPENT A LOT RECENTLY IN REGARD TO THIS PACKAGE AND THIS
WILL BE THE LAST FEE.

REMEMBER YOU HAVE SPENT A LOT TOWARDS THIS PACKAGE, ONCE THE CHARGE FEE
REQUIRED NOW IS PAID SHIPMENT WILL COMMENCE AND YOU WILL RECOVER ALL
YOU HAVE SPENT RECENTLY. THE CHARGE FEE REQUIRED NOW IS NOT MUCH SO
YOU WILL BE ABLE TO AFFORD THE LAST FEE NEEDED WHICH IS $97.00 ONLY MY
ADVICE TO YOU IS TO GO AHEAD AND SEND THE CHARGE FEE VIA WESTERN
UNION OR MONEYGRAM. THE WESTERN UNION OR MONEYGRAM INFORMATION BELOW BELONG
TO JAMES ONONIWU THE BRANCH MANAGER OF UPS INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING
DEPARTMENT SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA USA.

THIS IS THE INFO TO SEND THE $97.00 VIA WESTERN UNION OR MONEY GRAM AS BELOW

RECEIVER NAME: JAMES ONONIWU
ADDRESS: LAGOS NIGERIA
TEST QUESTION:TRUST
ANSWER:ME

YOUR SHIPMENT WILL COMMENCE ONCE THE CHARGE FEE IS PAID TODAY. AND AS
SOON AS YOU MADE THE $97.00 PAYMENT TODAY, GET BACK TO ME WITH
SENDER NAME....
SENDER ADDRESS.....
MTCN# OR REFERENCE NUMBER....

AWAIT YOUR REPLY AND REMEMBER SHIPMENT WILL COMMENCE TODAY AND IT WILL TAKE
ONLY 8 HOURS TO GET THE PACKAGE SHIPPED TO YOU TODAY.

ALSO, YOU HAVE TO SEND YOUR FULL NAME, HOUSE ADDRESS AND TELEPHONE NUMBER
FOR THE SHIPMENT IMMEDIATELY TO YOU ONCE YOU SEND THE $97.00 TODAY.

NOTE: YOUR ATM MASTER CARD VALUED $4.5M IS IN UPS INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING
DEPARTMENT SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA USA.

HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY

BEST REGARDS,
MR. PAUL SMITH
CALL: +234-8030922335
E-mail: mr.paulsmith319@yahoo.com

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam