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:

An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
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. )
- "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. )
- "hundred thousand us dollars" (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)
- "economic and financial crimes commission" (This name is often mentioned in money recovery scams (re-scam): the real EFCC does not contact victims to offer to get their money back because that is near impossible. )
- "(efcc)" (This name is often mentioned in money recovery scams (re-scam): the real EFCC does not contact victims to offer to get their money back because that is near impossible. )
- "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 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.
- payingofficer11@yahoo.com.tw (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)" <admin@lee.com>
Reply-To: <payingofficer11@yahoo.com.tw>
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 2015 02:20:00 -0800
Subject: FRN COMPENSATION FOR SCAMMED VICTIMS (CONTACT WESTERN UNION FOR
YOUR =?UTF-8?Q?PAYMENT=29=3F?=

--

Attention,

The Federal Government of Nigeria through provisions in Section 419 of
the
Criminal Code came up with punitive measures to deter and punish
offenders.The Advance Fee Fraud section deal mainly with cases of
advance
fee fraud(commonly called 419) such as obtaining by false pretence
through
different fraudulent schemes e.g. contract scam, credit card
scam,inheritance scam, job scam, loan scam, lottery scam, "wash wash"
scam
(money washing scam), marriage scam.

Immigration scam, counterfeiting and religious scam. It also
investigates
cyber crime cases.This is to officially announce to you that some scam
Syndicates were apprehended in Lagos, Nigeria few days ago and after
several interrogations and tortures
your details were among those mentioned by some of the scam Syndicates
as
one of the victims of their operations.

After proper investigations and research at Western Union Money
Transfer
and Money Gram office to know if you have truly sent money to the scam
Syndicates through Western Union Money Transfer or Money Gram, your
name
was found in Western Union Money Transfer database amongst those that
have
sent money through Western Union Money Transfer to Nigeria and this
proves
that you have truly been swindled by those unscrupulous persons by
sending
money to them in the course of getting one fund or the other that is
not
real,right now we are working hand in hand with Western Union and
Interpol
to track every fraudsters down, do not respond to their e-mails,
letters
and phone calls any longer they are scammers and you should be very
careful
to avoid being a victim to fraudsters any longer because they have
nothing
to offer you but to rip-off what you have worked hard to earn.

In this regard a meeting was held between the Board of Directors of The
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and as a consequence of
our
investigations it was agreed that the sum of Two hundred thousand US
Dollars (US$200,000) should be transferred to you out of the funds that
Federal Government of Nigeria has set aside as a compensation to
everyone
who have by one way or the other sent money to fraudsters in Nigeria.

We have deposited your fund at Western Union Money Transfer agent
location
EMS Post office Lagos, Nigeria. We have submitted your details to them
so
that your fund can be transferred to you.Contact the Western Union
agent
office through the email address stated below inform them about this
notification letter and the transfer of your fund;

Email:payingofficer11@yahoo.com.tw

Yours sincerely,
James Harry (Mr)
Assistant Investigation Officer.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)
15A Awolowo Road, Ikoyi, Lagos.
Nigeria
http://www.efccnigeria.org.

******************************************************************************************************************
Please note that some fraudsters are claiming to be Directors or staff
of
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission have recently been sending
phony e-mails/letters and also calling unsuspecting persons, with
intent to
defraud them. It is important to note that these fraudsters are
criminals
engaged in Advanced Fee Fraud known in Nigeria as 419. Every day,
people
throughout the world are falling victim to scams of one kind or
another.
But remember - if it sounds too good to be true, it is probably a scam.
In
the circumstance, we unreservedly advice you to dissociate yourself
from
all correspondence and transactions entered into based on evidently
fraudulent and fictitious claims.

**************************************************************************************************************************
This e-Mail may contain proprietary and confidential information and is
sent for the intended recipient(s) only. If, by an addressing or
transmission error, this mail has been misdirected to you, you are
requested to delete this mail immediately. You are also hereby notified
that any use, any form of reproduction, dissemination,
copying,disclosure,
modification, distribution and/or publication of this e-mail
message,contents or its attachment(s), other than by its intended
recipient(s), is strictly prohibited.Any opinions expressed in this
email
are those of the individual and not necessarily of the organization.
Before
opening attachment(s), please scan for viruses."All business handled
under
Standard Trading Conditions. Copy available on request.

**********************************************************************************************************************v****

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam