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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

• About the 419 (Advance Fee) scam
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• Company names mentioned in 419 spam:
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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.

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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)
  • "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: Alhaji Olapede Mohammed <olped_b219@msn.com>
Reply-To: <olapmed@ubbi.com>
Date: Thu, 5 Mar 2009 04:14:06 +0000
Subject: Your Outstanding Payment



Alhaji Olapede Mohammed
Wema Bank Plc.
54 Marina Street,Lagos-Nigeria
Tel:234 703 922 4638 Fax:234 1 774 9238

Dear Sir/Madam,

This is to officially inform you that we have received remittance instruction from Federal Government of Nigeria through the Federal Ministry of Finance to effect without delay your total Prize Winning Contract/Inheritance payment from her reserve account in this bank and debit same simultaneously.

This bank was appointed after the recent Federal Executive Council meeting held in conjunction with the IMF, the Paris Club and the World Bank representatives to carry out beneficiaries payment due to the PERSISTENCE CORRUPTION THAT HAS BEEN INDULGED BY MOST OF THE CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA DUBIOUS OFFICIALS WHERE THEY HAVE CONTINUE TO DELAY CONTRACTOR'S PAYMENT FOR SELFISH REASON BY IMPOSITION OF NON-EXISTING TAXES. In telegraphic transfer all over the world, what the remitting bank does is to deduct all charges from the beneficiary's principle sum and remit the balance and you have been warned for your own interest to stop all your correspondences with any other party,office or individual because authority to effect transfer has been withdrawn from them.

Before we proceed to transfer the above sum into your Bank Account, we would like you to re-confirm once again your Authentic Receiving Bank wire information. This measure adopted by the Wema Bank Plc, which is the appointed Bank of settlement for debts and services of the Federal Government of Nigeria is not to hurt you but is to guard against payment to a wrong beneficiary or transfer of fund into a wrong account.

We are going to expedite action on the remittance of your total sum by Swift Telegraphic Transfer immediately we hear from you.

Thanks,

Yours Faithfully,

Alhaji Olapede Mohammed
Director,International Remittance Office

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam