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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.

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Some comments by the Scam-O-Matic about the following email:

Fraud email example:

From: "CENTRAL BANK" <info_cbn1@msn.com>
Date: Wed, 02 May 2007 18:47:11 +0000
Subject: Re Payment Notification



Sir,

Based on your contract that has been executed and approved for payment, we have the mandate of the Federal Government of Nigeria to eradicate debt related problems and to ensure all bonafide contractors receive at least part payment of US$5Million through our international Payment Outlet in london Via Barclays bank of london. Kindly reconfirm the follows below to enable us commence processing of the payment with minimum delay.
(1). Bank details (2) Copies of your International Passport.(3) phone and Fax Numbers
Upon receipt of the followings we shall keep you posted of all development
We look forward to your response
Regards
Divine Akin
foreign Operations CBN

MailScanner has detected a possible fraud attempt from "g.msn.com" claiming to be Get a FREE Web site, company branded e-mail and more from Microsoft Office Live!

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