joewein.net   joewein.de LLC
fighting spam and scams on the Internet
Try our spam filter!
Free trial for 30 days
  jwSpamSpy

Home
About Us
Spam
419/Nigeria
Fraud
Contact

"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:

Fraud email example:

From: "Dr. Sanusi Lamido" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <info.cbngov.ng02@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 1 Mar 2012 05:48:17 -0800
Subject: IMMEDIATE FUND RELEASE NOTIFICATION

CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA
TINUBU SQUARE,VICTORIA ISLAND,LAGOS-NIGERIA
(OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR)
TINUBU SQUARE, LAGOS-NIGERIA.
Our Ref: CBN/IRD/CBX/021/2012
ATTN: Sir/ Madam,
IMMEDIATE FUND RELEASE NOTIFICATION
Compliments! I am Dr. Lamido Sanusi, The Executive Governor, Central
Bank of Nigeria (CBN). I have been instructed by the Federal Government of
Nigeria, Revenue Office to legally transfer your contract payment valued
at Ten Million, Three Hundred Thousand United States Dollars (10.3M). We
apologize for any inconvenience as a result of delay in transaction.
However, during the auditing and closing of all financial records of the
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), it was discovered from the records of
outstanding contractors and inheritance funds due for payment with the
Federal Government of Nigeria that your name, email and company was next
on the list of the outstanding contractors who have not yet received their
payment.
I wish to officially notify you that your payment is being processed and
will be released to you as soon as you respond to this letter. Be assured
that this transaction is 100% hitch free and my promise is that you will
receive your fund without any delay.
To facilitate the process of this transaction, please kindly re-confirm
the following
information as stated below:
1) Your full name and address
2) Phone, Fax and Mobile #.
3) Company name, position and address.
4) Profession, age and marital Status.
5) Complete Bank account information
Upon the reconfirmation of the above information, your payment will be
released to your doorstep in a certified bank draft or wired to your
nominated bank account directly from Central Bank of Nigeria. You are
therefore advised to reply urgently as soon as you receive this letter for
further discussion and more clarification.
Best Regards,
Dr. Lamido Sanusi
Executive Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
 

Anti-fraud resources: