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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:
- "my names are " (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "nigeria national petroleum corporation" (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.
Fraud email example:
From: DR BELLO AUDU <678bello@gmail.com>
Reply-To: drbello_audu@yahoo.com
Date: Sat, 4 Jul 2015 15:19:31 +0200
Subject: BUSINESS PROP0SAL
--
BUSINESS PROP0SAL
`
My names are DR BELLO AUDU
from Nigeria i have worked for thirty three years in Nigeria
National petroleum corporation (NNPC) I rose to the position of one
of the
directors six years ago .
In view of the recent general elections in Nigeria which an position
party won the presidential election followed by the swim in on 29 of
may 2015,the new administration decided to lye must of US off
especially
those from the Eastern part of the country.
Now my predicament which necessitated me to reach you is how to safe
guide thirty seven million seven hundred thousand united state of
Amacria dollars.($37,700,000)This
sum was made thou over Janice dunning Turn Around Maintenance of all
our refineries which we nominally carry out on yearly basis.
I therefor appeal to you to assist me to move the cash from her to
your country through diplomatic service.
I can offer you 15% of the whole sum if you assist me to move the
money to your country and 5% is set aside for any contingency that
may arise on the transaction.
THANKS FOR YOUR COOPERATION
YOURS SINCERELY
DR BELLO AUDU
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Anti-fraud resources:
