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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

• About the 419 (Advance Fee) scam
• "Is that email a scam?" - Check it online here!
  
• Frequently asked Questions (419 FAQ)
• Phone numbers used by 419 scammers
  (+225 +229 +234 +27 +31 +32 +34 +44 other)
• Company names mentioned in 419 spam:
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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.

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.
• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "charles soludo" (the name of a person or institution often appearing in 419 scams)
  • "central bank of nigeria" (the name of a person or institution often appearing in 419 scams)
  • "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.
  
• 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.
  • charlssoludo200888@yahoo.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "charles soludo" <pro-charles-soludo@mail.md>
Date: Tue, 11 Mar 2008 02:28:26 +0000
Subject: *****SPAM***** n


Spam detection software, running on the system "spam1.pem.inap.sea.dotster.net", has
identified this incoming email as possible spam. The original message
has been attached to this so you can view it (if it isn't spam) or label
similar future email. If you have any questions, see
the administrator of that system for details.

Content preview: KEEP AWY FROM PUBLIC USER AND SCAM USER THE HONORABLE, GOVERNOR
OF CBN. TINUBU SQUARE, LAGOS- NIGERIA. PRIVATE EMAIL :charlssoludo200888@yahoo.com
youOur Ref: CBN/OHG/OXD1/2006 You're Ref: TELEX: CENBANK. PAYMENT FILE: CBN/BEN/06.
Attn: Dear Valuable Beneficiary, Definitely I know that this letter will
be a surprising one to you. Firstly, I will like to introduce myself formally
as Prof.Charles Soludo, The Governor of the Central Bank Of Nigeria (CBN).
You are been officially contacted by me today because your funds were re-deposited
into the " Federal Suspense Account" of C.B.N last week, because you did
not forward your claim as the right beneficiary within due time. Well known
to all, the Central Bank Of Nigeria is the apex bank of all commercial banks
here in Nigeria. My reason for contacting you is that we had two strange
visitors who came to the Bank for the claim of your fund, one who introduced
himself as an attorney and a foreigner who claimed to be authorized by you
as the beneficiary of your fund.I had to ask them why they came to see me
in person and they said that they were here to put up claims on your behalf
for your fund valued at some millions in United States Dollars, which rightfully
belongs to you in our records. I asked them who authorized them to come down
to Nigeria for the Collection of this Payment and they told me that you asked
them to come and collect this Funds on your behalf. In fact this was the
biggest surprise of it kind that this bank had ever witnessed, because your
fund is still in the "Federal Suspense account" of C.B.N, and yet you sent
these men to come and collect the fund on your behalf without notifying the
bank. The bank do not understand why you sent these men to come and collect
your fund on your behalf, as it appears to be suspicious. If actually you
want them to help you collect your fund, at least you should have notified
us through our customer care department or even myself, the Governor of this
bank. They actually tendered some vital documents which proves that you actually
sent them for the collection of your Fund. Honestly, it really baffles me
that you took such decision without the consent of the bank. [...]

Content analysis details: (9.3 points, 7.0 required)

pts rule name description
---- ---------------------- --------------------------------------------------
0.1 RDNS_NONE Delivered to trusted network by a host with no rDNS
2.6 RCVD_NUMERIC_HELO Received: contains an IP address used for HELO
1.6 MISSING_HEADERS Missing To: header
0.0 HTML_MESSAGE BODY: HTML included in message
2.0 ADVANCE_FEE_2 Appears to be advance fee fraud (Nigerian 419)
1.4 ADVANCE_FEE_3 Appears to be advance fee fraud (Nigerian 419)
1.5 ADVANCE_FEE_4 Appears to be advance fee fraud (Nigerian 419)

The original message was not completely plain text, and may be unsafe to
open with some email clients; in particular, it may contain a virus,
or confirm that your address can receive spam. If you wish to view
it, it may be safer to save it to a file and open it with an editor.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam