419 scam: Lady Elsie Santosa <ladyelsiesantosa@yahoo.com> From Elsie

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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:

The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "dear sir/madam" (a standard Nigerian greeting phrase)
- ",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)
- "await your urgent response" (scammers rush victims so they don't have time to think properly)
- "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 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.
- +2348067868107 (Nigeria, prepaid mobile phone)

Fraud email example:

From: Lady Elsie Santosa <ladyelsiesantosa@yahoo.com>
Date: Thu, 25 Mar 2010 02:42:22 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: From Elsie

FROM: Lady Elsie Santosa,
Central Bank of Nigeria
Lagos, Nigeria

Dear Sir/Madam,

I
have been requested by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company to
contact you for assistance in resolving a matter. The Nigerian National
Petroleum Company has recently concluded a large number of contracts
for oil exploration in the sub-Sahara region.

The contracts have
immediately produced moneys equaling US$40,000,000. The Nigerian
National Petroleum Company is desirous of oil exploration in other
parts of the world, however, because of certain regulations of the
Nigerian Government, it is unable to move these funds to another region.

You
assistance is requested as a non-Nigerian citizen to assist the
Nigerian National Petroleum Company, and also the Central Bank of
Nigeria, in moving these funds out of Nigeria. If the funds can be
transferred to your name, in your bank account, then you can
forward
the funds as directed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company to its
destination. In exchange for your accommodating services, the Nigerian
National Petroleum Company would agree to allow you to retain 10%, or
US$4 million of this amount.

If it will be possible for you to
assist us, we would be most grateful, and we will introduce you to the
representatives of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company, as well as
with certain officials of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Please
call me at your earliest convenience at +234-8067-86-8107. Time is of
the essence in this matter. We await your urgent response

Yours truly,
Lady Elsie Santosa
Central Bank of Nigeria.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam