419 scam: "Mr. Frank Williams" <fgnfrankkoro@gmail.com> Attn. Beneficiary,

joewein.de LLC
fighting spam and scams on the Internet

Try our spam filter!
Free trial for 30 days

Home

About Us

Spam

419/Nigeria

Fraud

Contact

"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:
- "dear sir/madam" (a standard Nigerian greeting phrase)
- "transfer of your funds" (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)
This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.

Fraud email example:

From: "Mr. Frank Williams" <fgnfrankkoro@gmail.com>
Reply-To: frankwilliams0009@outlook.com
Date: Sun, 7 Oct 2018 16:23:54 -0700
Subject: Attn. Beneficiary,

Dear Sir/Madam,

Compliment of the Season

We are not sure you received our previous message but we wish to us this
medium to officially inform you that following the ongoing review of all
unclaimed and delayed funds by the United Nations and the World Bank, your
payment file was forwarded to our office for immediate payment of your long
delayed funds starting with a first transfer of US$1,850,000.00 with
reference No. TH/FM-85WA, to your bank account.

However, we are surprised to receive another application this morning from
your representative, MR DOMINIK SEBASTIAN ,stating that you authorized him
to transfer the funds to another bank account in Austria and that you were
recently involved in an auto accident and cannot walk right now.

Could you please confirm immediately, your relationship with MR DOMINIK
SEBASTIAN and also, confirm if the bank account in Austria as shown below
is now your new bank account information to receive your funds this week
from our paying bank

BANK:ERSTE BANK
ACCOUNT NO:0872-456011-91
IBAN: AT572011128014785642
SWIFT CODE: GIBAATWWXXX

Kindly get in touch with us today by email with your telephone number to
confirm this information to avoid wrong transfer of your funds, so that we
can proceed with the transfer of the US$1,850,000.00 to your correct bank
account as scheduled.

Yours sincerely,
Dr. Frank Williams
Director, Anti-Fraud Unit.
Financial Services Regulation Committee

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam