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:
- "from the desk of" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "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. )
- "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. )
- ",000,000" (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)
- "cotonou" (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.

Fraud email example:

From: <intern@cityofleb.local>
Reply-To: michelleobama70@yahoo.com
Date: Sun, 16 Oct 2016 16:52:18 +0100
Subject: From The Desk of Mrs. Michelle Obama,
First Lady of the United States of America,

From The Desk of Mrs. Michelle Obama, First Lady of the United States of America,

I am Mrs. Michelle Obama and I am writing to inform you about your Bank Draft Check brought by the United Embassy from the government of Benin Republic in the white house Washington DC which contains the sum of ($20,000,000) twenty million U.S dollars credited from the bank of America. The delivery of your funds has been mandated to be delivered to your address on Friday 17 of October 2016 to you as soon as you get back to me with your home address and your cell phone number.

Bear in mind that I have taking my time to be in charge of your funds as instructed by my husband to ensure that you received your funds successfully from the white house to reduce the economy and Iâ€™m the only one that has your funds in regard to my husband Mr. Barrack Hussein Obama II and you will have to pay the sum of $150 only before your Bank Draft Check will be delivered to you on Tuesday. The reason why the fee is required is to have your funds clearance paper secured from the origin of the funds to avoid any harassment from the authority and you are also expecting to be announced as the winner of the said amount by Wednesday as soon as your fund is delivered to you.

So you are urgent advised to get back to me with your home address and also the payment information today for immediate effect of the delivery. Note that the $150 is the only fee and final payment you have my assurance.

However, according to our agreement with the originated Benin Republic, all our communications should be on email for recording purpose, so follow my instruction accordingly, even if you donâ€™t have the $150 try to borrow it and send it immediately because this is your life opportunity and I donâ€™t want you to lose the chance this time.

Please I will advise you to urgent make the payment this morning via money gram money transfer to the listed cashier information as instructed you by the originated authority. I will look forward to received your email today with the payment to enable the origin secure the needed clearance papers required at White House Benin to deliver your funds. Note that it will take only 14hrs to deliver your Bank Draft Check in receipt of the $150 payment.

Please find the payment data below to send the $150 via western union or money gram.

Receiver Name:.....SAMUEL JIDE
Country...Benin Republic
City....Cotonou
Question:....God
Answer:....Saves
Amount:....$150
MTCN reference number..
Sender Name...
Sender's Telephone..
Sender's Address..

I look forward to your response to this email with the payment today.

Regards

Mrs. Michelle Obama
The White House
(Official Residence of the President of the US)
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington DC 20500 US

The information contained in this e-mail, including any attachments, is intended only for the use of the intended recipient(s) named above and may contain confidential or proprietary information of the City of Lebanon's which is protected by law from disclosure. If you are not the intended recipient(s), please delete this message from your system and contact the sender immediately at (417) 532-2156. If you received this message and are not the intended recipient(s), you are notified that reading, copying or distributing this e-mail is prohibited. No confidentiality or privilege shall be waived or lost by any misdirected or unintended transmission.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam