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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:
- An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
- 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:
- "(ecowas)" (the name of a person or institution often appearing in 419 scams)
- "ecowas " (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.
- This email lists mobile phone numbers. Use of such numbers is typical for scams because they allow criminals to conceal their true location. They can receive calls in an Internet cafe from where they send you emails, while pretending to be in some office.
- 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.
- jacksonofor36@yahoo.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)
Fraud email example:
From: "Mrs. Caroline Boone" <dlhoski81@hotmail.com>
Reply-To: jacksonofor36@yahoo.com
Date: Mon, 19 Sep 2011 10:04:07 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: MEETING OF ECOWAS MEDIATION AND SECURITY COUNCIL
Attention: Beneficiary,
MEETING OF ECOWAS MEDIATION AND SECURITY COUNCIL
After the meeting
in ECOWAS Headquarter in Nigeria the president of Federal Republic of
Nigeria Goodluck Jonathan held this meeting at Sheraton Hilton Hotel
and Suites Abuja Niagara.
The Office of
Economic Community of West Africa states (ECOWAS) chairman president
Goodluck Jonathan map out $180,000 Hundred and Eighty Thousand United
States Dollars in bank draft each, to the listed unpaid fund from West
Africa Continents.
Now in our unit
office here in Benin we receive Fourteen Bank Draft to send to the
unpaid people from Benin Unit office and your name was among the people
therefore what you have to do is to reconfirmed back to us your mailing
address where your Bank Draft will send to you.
Therefore have in
mind that if you denied yourself this payment opportunity you have no
person to balm therefore contact us back immediately to enable us know
how this payment can send/deliver immediately to you contact back to
this office as soon as you receive this message to this departmental
unit in charge of this payment below is the person contact and email
address.
Contact Person, Mr. Jackson Ofor
Email Address: jacksonofor36@yahoo.com
Telephone Number, +22997709638
Yours faithfully,
Mrs. Caroline Boone
Secretary to Chairman ECOWAS
Benin Republic Unit
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Anti-fraud resources:
