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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:
- The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "clearance fee" (this will cost you money - be careful with upfront payments to anyone you only know through email, especially if they promise you a lot of money. NEVER send money by Western Union or MoneyGram to people you do not know personally - NO EXCEPTIONS! Instant wire transfer services are not meant to be used with strangers because they offer no protection against fraud. That is precisely why the criminals want you send money that way. )
- "bphbng@outlook.com" (this email address has been used in a known scam)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Ms. Heidi" <orjidm@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, 22 Jul 2017 03:02:42 +0300
Subject: attention sir
From: Ms. Heidi Mendoza
Head Of United Nations Under-Secretary
General For Internal Oversight Services
To: Unpaid Beneficiary,
This is to inform you that I came to Nigeria yesterday from Canada
after series of complaint from the FBI and other Security agencies from
Asia,Europe, South America and the United States of America
respectively,against the Federal Government of Nigeria and the British
Government for the high volume of fraudulent activities going that is on
in these two nations.
Right now, as directed by UN secretary General named António Guterres
we are working in collaborations with the Nigerian Financial Crime
Commission and other agencies and we have decided to waive away all your
clearance fees/Charges and authorized the Government of Nigeria to effect
your overdue payment worth $10.5M only into your account without any delay
as approved and instructed by AMERICAN government and UNITED NATIONS;
Sincerely, you are a lucky person because I have just discovered that
some top Nigerian and other Government officials are interested in your
fund and they are working in collaboration with One Mr. Richard Graves from
USA to frustrate you and thereafter divert your fund into their personal
account.
You can view this page for your perusal
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2003/ik344.doc.htm
We are going to pay you from our compensation fund scheme.
Note that I have a very limited time to stay in Nigeria here so I
would like you to urgently respond to this message with your details; so
that I can advise you on how best to receive your fund from me within the
next 72 hours.
1. Your full names:.......................
2. Residential address:...................
3. Telephone phone number:.................
You can reach me for now with below information: EMAIL:
bphbng@outlook.com
Sincerely yours
Ms. Heidi Mendoza
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Anti-fraud resources:
