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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:
  1 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
• Support our efforts to stop scams!
  
• How to report 419 spam to us
• What can you do when you receive 419 spam
  
  
• Spam archive, Daily index
  

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:

• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "dear sir/madam" (a standard Nigerian greeting phrase)
  • "will come to you as a surprise" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • ",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)
  • "courier company" (Courier companies mentioned in 419 scams are always fake. They will have you send money to them, but won't deliver anything. )
  • "central bank of nigeria" (the name of a person or institution often appearing in 419 scams)
• This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
  

Fraud email example:

From: "EGON KELLER" <jjayj02@yahoo.co.uk>
Date: Fri, 16 May 2008 21:34:25 +0200 (CEST)
Subject: *****SPAM***** COURIER DEPARTMENT ( CBN )


Spam detection software, running on the system "radius2.beosms.com", 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: DEAR SIR/MADAM, I KNOW THIS WILL COME TO YOU AS A SURPRISE
BECAUSE YOU DO NOT KNOW ME .I AM MR. EGON KELLER, I WORK IN THE CENTRAL BANK
OF NIGERIA, PACKAGING AND COURIER DEPARTMENT. I GOT YOUR CONTACT IN MY SEARCH
FOR AN HONEST PERSON THROUGH ONE OF MY COLLEAGUES HERE IN THE CENTRAL BANK
WHO SAID THAT I CAN CONFIDE IN YOU. I WANT YOU TO HELP ME CLEAR THIS PACKAGE
THAT IS ALREADY IN LONDON WHICH I SHIPPED THROUGH OUR CBN ACCREDITED COURIER
AGENT BUT THE CONTENTS OF THE PACKAGE IS $10,000,000.00 ALL IN $100.00 BILLS,
BUT THE COURIER COMPANY DOES NOT KNOW THAT IT IS MONEY THAT I HAVE IN THE
PACKAGE. [...]

Content analysis details: (11.1 points, 8.0 required)

pts rule name description
---- ---------------------- --------------------------------------------------
-1.8 ALL_TRUSTED Passed through trusted hosts only via SMTP
3.5 BAYES_99 BODY: Bayesian spam probability is 99 to 100%
[score: 1.0000]
2.1 SUBJ_ALL_CAPS Subject is all capitals
1.3 MISSING_HEADERS Missing To: header
1.6 DEAR_SOMETHING BODY: Contains 'Dear (something)'
0.6 US_DOLLARS_3 BODY: Mentions millions of $ ($NN,NNN,NNN.NN)
1.2 ADVANCE_FEE_2 Appears to be advance fee fraud (Nigerian 419)
1.5 UPPERCASE_75_100 message body is 75-100% uppercase
1.4 ADVANCE_FEE_3 Appears to be advance fee fraud (Nigerian 419)
0.6 ADVANCE_FEE_4 Appears to be advance fee fraud (Nigerian 419)
-1.1 AWL AWL: From: address is in the auto white-list

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam