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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)
- 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.
- ben_smith01@sify.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)
Fraud email example:
From: MR BEN SMITH <infolatter32@cantv.net>
Reply-To: ben_smith01@sify.com
Date: Tue, 3 Sep 2013 16:08:14 -0430 (VET)
Subject: ECOWAS PROJECT
INTRODUCTION:MY NAME IS MR BEN SMITH.I AM THE DIRECTOR OF
FINANCE AND SUPPLY OF ECONOMIC COMMUNITY OF WEST AFRICAN STATES(ECOWAS)THE WEST AFRICA UNION TENDERS BOARD RECENTLY AWARDED CONTRACT FOR THE SUPPLY OF COMPUTERS TO HIGHER INSTITUTIONS OF LEARNING WITHIN THE MEMBER COUNTRIES(STATES)OF THE ECONOMIC COMMUNITY OF WEST AFRICA STATES(ECOWAS).THIS PROJECT WAS SPONSORED BY THE WORLD BANK WORTH OVER FIVE HUNDRED MILLION UNDER THE UNIVERSAL BASIC EDUCATION SCHEME.HOWEVER, THE CONTRACT WAS OVER INVOICED IN THE EXCESS OF TWENTY FIVE MILLION.THE CONTRACTORS HAS BEEN PAID AND THE OUTSTANDING AMOUNT OF TWENTY FIVE MILLION IS STILL FLOATING AT THE ECOWAS INVESTMENT BANK.
THIS FUND IS RIPE AND READY TO BE TRANSFERED ABROAD.
THEREFORE IF YOU ARE WILLING TO COLLABORATE WITH ME IN ORDER TO MOVE THIS FUND TO YOUR ACCOUNT ABROAD FEEL FREE TO CONTACT ME SO THAT WE CAN NEGOTIATE THE PROCESS OF THE TRANSFER AND ALSO THE SHARING FORMULA.YOU MAY HAVE RECEIVED SCAM LETTERS AND IT MAY RAISE DOUBT IN YOUR MIND BUT I ASSURE YOU THAT THIS IS NOT AND NEVER A SCAM.YOU CAN CONTACT ME ON TELEPHONE NUMBER +229 95988672 EMAIL (ben_smith01@sify.com) THIS IS MY PRIVATE EMAIL ADDRESS. PLEASE
REPLY WITH YOUR FULL INFORMATION.
YOUR'S FAITHFULLY,
MR BEN SMITH
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Anti-fraud resources:
