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:
- ",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)
- "united state dollar" (this email uses bad English)
- "economic and financial crime 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. )
- "cheque " (Beware of any scheme that involves cashing checks or money orders and then wiring a portion of the funds somewhere - you'll be liable for the entire amount if the checks or money orders turn out to be fake, even after you have received and forwarded cash. If it's a lottery prize, remember that real lotteries do not pay large prizes by check. They wire the money directly to your bank account and you do not pay for that. Many scammers promise a large check only in order to then demand payment of courier fees for a fake courier service. )
This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
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.
- +2347030855075 (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.
- phenygreen1@yahoo.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "Mr. Ban Ki-Moon" <demo@cloud.local>
Reply-To: <phenygreen1@yahoo.com>
Date: Sun, 2 Apr 2017 12:24:26 -0700
Subject: CONGRATULATIONS!!! THE UNITED NATIONS HEADQUARTERS SEEK YOUR REPLY
CONCERNING YOUR AWAITING CHEQUE

THE UNITED NATIONS HEADQUARTERS OFFICE OF INTERNATIONAL OVERSIGHT SERVICES=
UNITED NATIONS COMPENSATION IN CONJUNCTION WITH FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OF UNIT=
ED STATES OF AMERICA IN AFFILIATION WITH WORLD BANK. OUR REF: U.N/WBO/042UK=
/2018 NEW YORK Congratulations Beneficiary dhicks@princecreek.com [1]United=
Nation goal to eradicate global poverty before 2020. [2]Financial support =
to individuals,family and organization with bright purpose to fund their pr=
oject. [3]World,community,development. [4]Your email was submitted by the a=
ll world email providers and was chosen through balloting system. [5]The be=
neficiary will sponsor the claim charges as regards the claim of your fund.=
Hope all is well with you and Your family? You may not understand why this=
mail came to you. In regards to the recent meeting between the United Nati=
ons and the Present United States Government to restore the dignity and Eco=
nomy of the Nations,Base on the Agreement with the World Bank Assistance to=
help and make the world a better place for all with the sole aim of abolis=
hing poverty. We have been having a meeting for the passed 7 months which e=
nded 2 days ago. The National Central Bureau of Interpol enhanced by the Un=
ited Nations and Federal Bureau of Investigation have successfully passed a=
mandate to the current president of Nigeria his Excellency President Muham=
madu Buhari to boost the exercise of clearing all foreign debts owed to For=
eigners and to Compensate all that have lost their hard earned money to the=
Nigeria Fraudsters. This email is to all the people that have been scammed=
in any part of the world, THE UNITED NATIONS HEADQUARTERS have agreed to c=
ompensate them with the sum of US$8,500,000 ( Eight Million Five Hundred Un=
ited State Dollars) This includes every foreign contractors that may have n=
ot received their contract sum, and people that have had an unfinished tran=
saction or international businesses that failed due to Government problems,=
Contracts Sum, Lottery/Gambling etc.Your name and email was in the list sub=
mitted by our Monitoring Teams of Economic and Financial Crime Commission (=
EFCC) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) observers and this is w=
hy we are contacting you, this have been agreed upon and have been signed. =
You are advised to contact Pastor Henry Green, As he is our Special Represe=
ntative and Head of the United Nations Office for West Africa (UNOWA). cont=
act him immediately for your CHEQUE worth the total sum of US$8,500,000 ( E=
ight Million Five Hundred United State Dollars) This funds are in DRAFT For=
m for security purpose ok? So he will send it to you via DHL courier compan=
y and you can clear the CHEQUE in any bank of your choice in your country. =
Contact Him immediately for your cheque Delivery with the following informa=
tion. 1. Full name: 2. Your Country: 3. Address where you want him to send =
the cheque(P.O Box not acceptable) 4. Telephone Number: 5. Fax Number: 6. M=
arital Status: 7. Occupation: 8. Sex: 9. Age: 10. Passport : Person to Cont=
act: Pastor Henry Green (contact agent) Email: phenygreen1@yahoo.com Phone =
Number: +2347030855075 Give him your File Reference (RE-0017-UN) and you ar=
e free to contact him via telephone number, it will be better to call him a=
nd once you do that he will ask you of your File Reference number which is =
(RE-0017-UN), this file reference number is very important and gives him ac=
cess to get through to your file and email you back quickly once he confirm=
s your email and your delivery details. Thanks for adhering to this instruc=
tions and once again accept our congratulations. Good luck and kind regards=
, Making the world a better place, Mr. Ban Ki-Moon Secretary-General United=
Nations (UN).... http://www.un.org/sg/

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam