joewein.de LLC fighting spam and scams on the Internet

Try our spam filter! Free trial for 30 days

"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

• About the 419 (Advance Fee) scam
• "Is that email a scam?" - Check it online here!
  
• Frequently asked Questions (419 FAQ)
• Phone numbers used by 419 scammers
  (+225 +229 +234 +27 +31 +32 +34 +44 other)
• Company names mentioned in 419 spam:
  1 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
• Support our efforts to stop scams!
  
• How to report 419 spam to us
• What can you do when you receive 419 spam
  
  
• Spam archive, Daily index
  

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.

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.
• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "dear friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "from the desk of" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "will come to you as a surprise" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "million united states dollars" (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)
  • "central bank of nigeria" (the name of a person or institution often appearing in 419 scams)
  • "lagos" (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.
  • +2348063235660 (Nigeria, prepaid mobile phone)
• 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.
  • centralbank40@k.ro (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: centralbank40@k.ro
Date: Wed, 14 Mar 2007 04:15:22 -0800
Subject: New message

>From The Desk Of:
Deputy Governor Domestic Operations.
Central Bank Of Nigeria,
Tinubu Square,
Lagos,Nigeria.
Tel:+234-046-484072.

My Dear Friend,

I know this will come to you as a surprise because you do not know me.
I am Alhaji Mahey R. Rasheed. I work in the Central Bank of Nigeria, Deputy
Governor Domestic Operations. I got your contact in my search for an
honest person through one of my colleagues here in the central bank
that said that I could confide in you.

I want you to help me clear this package/luggage that is already
deposited in a security Vaults in Germany which I shipped through our Central
Bank of Nigeria (CBN) accredited courier agent but the contents of the package
is Forty Million United States Dollars Only ($40,000,000.00) all in
$100.00 bills, but the courier company does not know that it is money that I
have in the package.

All I want you to do for me now is this, give me your mailing address
your private phone and fax and I hope that at the end of the day, you will
have 30% and 70% will be for me. My identity must not be revealed to
anybody.

If this arrangement is okay by you, you can contact me through this
E-mail address:centralbank40@k.ro, for security reasons other modalities will
be discussed as soon as you get back to me including sending of the key to
the package/luggage to you.

Yours faithfully,

Alhaji Mahey R. Rasheed,
Deputy Governor Domestic Operations.
Personal Line:+234-806-3235660.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam