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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)
  • "courier service" (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)
  • "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.
  

Fraud email example:

From: paul okafor <paulokafor@mail.com>
Reply-To: paul.okafor008@yahoo.fr
Date: Tue, 2 Sep 2008 08:59:02 +0200
Subject: *****SPAM***** Dear Sir/madam,


Spam detection software, running on the system "mail.tugab.bg", 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:Dr Paul Okafor. Central Bank of Nigeria. Tinubu-Sq=
uare,
Lagos Nigeria. Dear Sir/madam, Sequel to the secretive arrangement in =
regards
of the shipment of your contract sum, I wish to inform you that all ne=
cessary
modalities have beenautomatically concluded and have left Nigeria to L=
ondon
today by Express Cargo Flight. Note carefully the content of the crate=
is
"MONEY" but I did not disclose it to the Courier Services as Money,rat=
her
I informed them that the crate contain Vital"DIPLOMATIC DOCUMENTS" bel=
onging
to my client (that=B4s you). Furthermore, the weight of the consignmen=
t is
220kg but I manage topay for 120kg, which cost US$25,600.00. [...]=20

Content analysis details: (5.5 points, 5.0 required)

pts rule name description
---- ---------------------- ---------------------------------------------=
-----
1.1 DNS_FROM_OPENWHOIS RBL: Envelope sender listed in bl.open-whois.=
org.
-1.8 ALL_TRUSTED Passed through trusted hosts only via SMTP
1.3 MISSING_HEADERS Missing To: header
1.6 DEAR_SOMETHING BODY: Contains 'Dear (something)'
0.0 BAYES_50 BODY: Bayesian spam probability is 40 to 60%
[score: 0.5000]
1.2 ADVANCE_FEE_2 Appears to be advance fee fraud (Nigerian 419=
)
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=
)

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam