419 scam: Mrs Vivian Douglas <arthurmilopattison@gmail.com> Congratulations!

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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:

An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
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:
- "central bank of nigeria" (the name of a person or institution often appearing in 419 scams)
- "abuja" (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.
- mrs.viviandouglas@linuxmail.org (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: Mrs Vivian Douglas <arthurmilopattison@gmail.com>
Reply-To: mrs.viviandouglas@linuxmail.org
Date: Fri, 31 Mar 2023 00:05:37 -0700
Subject: Congratulations!

Central Bank of Nigeria
International Operations Department
P.M.B. 0187, Garki Abuja. Nigeria

15th September 2021.

Dear Sir,

Payment/Transfer Schedule for your outstanding USD15.5million.

This is to inform you that your overdue/outstanding
contract/inheritance fund - USD15.5million approved by the National
Executive Council and the transfer is scheduled for transfer. However,
we discovered that your Certificate of Payment from the Federal
Ministry of Finance is lacking from your file. Please kindly send a
copy to us today or tomorrow and your bank account details to enable
us to transfer your fund as scheduled. Please send requested
information to mrs.viviandouglas@linuxmail.org

If you do not have it, you should contact your partner to help you get
it immediately to send to us.

Please take note that this arrangement for your payment supersede any
previous arrangement made and therefore you should stop further
dealings with any bank or institution here or its affiliate anywhere.

Yours sincerely,
Mrs. Vivian Douglas
Director,
International Operations Department
Central Bank of Nigeria
P.M.B. 0187, Garki Abuja. Nigeria
Email: mrs.viviandouglas@linuxmail.org

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam