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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
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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:

• An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "from the desk of" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "death certificate" (this phrase is often used in inheritance scams such as next of kin or https://www.419scam.org/419-murdered-businessman.htm">orphan scams. )
  • "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.
  
• 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.
  • charlesobaseki6@gmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: charles oba <charlesoba6@msn.com>
Reply-To: <charlesobaseki6@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 25 Mar 2009 13:23:33 +0000
Subject: Attn, Sir/Madam,



>From the desk of,
Mr. Charles Obaseki,
Director Foreign Operation Dept.
Central Bank of Nigeria.
E-mail: charlesobaseki6@gmail.com

Attn, Sir/Madam,

We are obliged to inform you that after we have completed the process of releasing your funds to you, we now received a Death Certificate, certifying that you were death according to one Mr. David Jones, who claims to be your representative, and he now requested that your funds should be transferred to a Swiss account he provided.
But however, due to the suspicious nature of his claims, we therefore decided to write you to know if really you were dead as said by the so called Mr. David Jones, who claims to be your representative.
So please if you were still alive, you should provide the following information for us to be sure.
1) Your full name
2) Your residential address
3) Your telephone number
4) Your occupation

Be notified that if we do not hear from you within the next 7 days, we shall assume you were dead as claimed by your representative, and we would then transfer the funds to his Swiss account as he desire.
All the obligations have been met and the funds are ready for transfer to the account now.
Awaiting your urgent response to this effect

Yours faithfully,
Mr. Charles Obaseki,
For: Central Bank

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam