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joewein.de LLC
fighting spam and scams on the Internet
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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.
Click here to report a problem with this page.
Some comments by the Scam-O-Matic about the following email:
- This email uses a separate reply address that is different from the sender address. Spammers use this to get replies even when the original spam sending accounts have been shut down. Also, sometimes the sender addresses are legitimate looking but fake and only the reply address is actually an email account controlled by the scammers.
- The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "million united states dollars" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
- "central bank of nigeria" (the name of a person or institution often appearing in 419 scams)
- "abuja" (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: "DR. THOMAS JOHNSON" <sebacoepic@gmail.com>
Reply-To: drtomjohnson@hotmail.com
Date: Mon, 29 Aug 2011 00:36:27 +0100 (BST)
Subject: RE-CONFIRM DETAILS
REPLY URGENTLY.
THIS IS TO INFORM YOU THAT YOUR NAME WAS AMONG OF THE LISTED FROM NEW PAYMENT REGULATION RELEASED BY THE NIGERIAN PRESIDENT DR.GOOD-LUCK JONATHAN, IN LINE WITH THE WORLD BANK GROUP (W B G),ALSO WITH GOVERNOR OF CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA IN ABUJA YESTERDAY MORNING,
FOR VERIFICATION APPROVAL FOR THE TRANSFER OF YOUR $1.2 MILLION UNITED STATES DOLLARS INTO YOUR BANK ACCOUNT AND YOU ARE URGENTLY REQUIRED TO RE-CONFIRM THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION'S YOUR FULL DETAILS TODAY.
YOUR FULL NAME
YOUR CONTACT ADDRESS
YOUR AGE SEX
YOUR OCCUPATION
YOUR BANKING DETAILS
YOUR PRIVATE CELL NUMBER
A SCANNED COPY OF IDENTIFICATION
FOR THE RELEASE OF YOUR( $ 1,200.000.00 ) INTO YOUR ACCOUNT WITHIN 48HOUR, YOU HAVE TO STOP ALL THE CONTACT YOU ARE HAVING WITH ANY OFFICE SO THAT YOUR FUNDS CAN BE WIRE INTO YOUR ACCOUNT.
DR.THOMAS JOHNSON
DIRECTOR OF OPERATION PAYMENT
ADDRESS:108 GARIKI ROAD
ABUJA-NIGERIA
Phone +234(9)1904782
Fax +234(9)1904771
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Anti-fraud resources:
