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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:
  • "from the desk of" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "to your nominated bank account" (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)
  • "million british pounds" (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)
  • "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)
• This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
  

Fraud email example:

From: "Prof Charles Soludo"<cb-nig@live.com>
Date: Wed, 10 Sep 2008 09:04:33 +0200
Subject: *****SPAM***** IMMEDIATE PAYMENT


Spam detection software, running on the system "spam1.pem.inap.sea.dotste=
r.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: From the Desk Of: Prof Charles Soludo Executive Governo=
r (CBN)
IMMEDIATE PAYMENT REF: CBN/IRD/CBX/021/06 We have this on 8th day of S=
ept,
2008 received a payment credit instruction from the federal Government=
of
Nigeria to credit your account with your full contract funds from the =
Nigerian
reserve account with our bank. This is to notify you that your funds h=
as
been programmed for immediate release into your nominated account but w=
e can
not transfer this funds direct to your nominated bank account, because=
we
are having a little problem with International Monetary Fund (IMF) so =
our
method of payment is by you to contact the central bank of Nigeria Aff=
iliated
bank in London for the immediate payment release of =A310 Million [Ten=
Million
British Pounds] into any nominated bank of your choice. [...]=20

Content analysis details: (11.2 points, 7.0 required)

pts rule name description
---- ---------------------- ---------------------------------------------=
-----
0.0 MISSING_MID Missing Message-Id: header
0.1 RDNS_NONE Delivered to trusted network by a host with n=
o rDNS
1.8 SUBJ_ALL_CAPS Subject is all capitals
1.6 MISSING_HEADERS Missing To: header
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=
)
4.2 FORGED_MUA_OUTLOOK Forged mail pretending to be from MS Outlook

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam