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)
- "clearance document" (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)
- "00,000.00" (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)
- "inland revenue" (Tax offices mentioned in 419 scams are always fake. Even after you pay their fake tax demands you will still not receive the non-existent funds you have been promised. )
This email message is a fake lottery scam. Consider the following facts about real lotteries:
1. They don't notify winners by email.
2. You can't win without first buying a lottery ticket.
3. They don't randomly select email addresses to award prizes to.
4. They don't use free email accounts (Yahoo, Hotmail, etc) to communicate with you.
5. They don't tell you to call a mobile phone number.
6. They don't tell you to keep your winnings secret.
7. They will never ask a winner to pay any fees to receive a prize!

Fraud email example:

From: "Mr. James Dimon" <"www."@mint.ocn.ne.jp>
Reply-To: "Mr. James Dimon" <chasebankremittance@zoho.com>
Date: Sun, 18 Jun 2017 18:13:00 +0900 (JST)
Subject: WELCOME TO JP MORGAN CHASE BANK REMITTANCE DEPARTMENT NEW YORK CITY
USA,

WELCOME TO JP MORGAN CHASE BANK REMITTANCE DEPARTMENT NEW YORK CITY USA,
From the Desk Of:
Mr. James Dimon CEO
JP Morgan Chase Bank
Tel;(515)259 7801
270 Park Ave. New York City 10017
Date: 17/ 07/ 2017

Legitimate Entitled Owner Of: Usd$5,000.000.00

RE: ABSOLUTE LEGAL CERTIFICATION: FINAL CONFIRMABLE REMITTANCE

Attn: Beneficiary.

We are pleased to inform you that we have received your Bank Details as per jp morgan Chase Bank Request and it has being filed in our fund transfer system in which the legal transference of your total Lottery wining funds above has being APROVAL today to be transfer to your designated Bank Account. However the vetting/due diligence checks on your account have now been completed successfully .The outstanding deposit of US$5,000,000.00 only will be transferred to your designated bank account as you instructed.

However, in order to proceed with the transfer of the deposit funds, we have set up a transit account in your name and deposited the total outstanding amount therein.We are required to offset the applicable VAT on the account to enable us transmit the funds to the designated bank account you provided.

This VAT cannot be deducted from the deposit since you do not have an account with us and also the fund is insured against loss on transit or deductions from any source therefore, the VAT needs to be paid before any transaction could be carried out.

We will only be able to transfer the funds to your account after formal payment of the VAT fee of $1,985(One Thousand Nine Hundred and Eighty Five United States Dollars) on the account is reconciled and the documents confirming this payment have been submitted to the Inland Revenue Services for their records.

Kindly contact me after you read this message to give you information where to send this Charge for your payment;

And be informed that your funds will be made accessible immediately the VAT fee is paid and all the transaction clearance documents will be copied to you at time of transmission in accordance to the full disclosure act. The Vat payable on your transaction is $1,985usd only.

In the interim, we will keep your fund on hold until we receive the VAT fee after which your fund will be freed up for transfer to your designated account.

However, you can view the account online Immediately after you sent this $1,985.00.

Yours Faithfully,

Best Regards.
Mr. James Dimon
Tel;(515)259 7801
Email(chasebankremittance@zoho.com)
JP Morgan Chase Bank
270 Park Ave.New York City 10017

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam