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:
  • "your payment is being processed" (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)
  • "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)
  • "million united state 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)
  • "million 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)
  • ",000,000" (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)
  • "united state dollar" (this email uses bad English)
  • "diplomatic courier" ("diplomats" who perform deliveries of cash or other valuables to you only exist in 419 scams)
  • "barrister" (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
  • "foreign remittance department" (Banks mentioned in 419 scams are always fake (real banks don't communicate using mobile phones or free webmail addresses))
  • "courier service" (Courier companies mentioned in 419 scams are always fake. They will have you send money to them, but won't deliver anything. )
  • "executive governor" (the name of a person or institution often appearing in 419 scams)
  • "central bank of nigeria" (the name of a person or institution often appearing in 419 scams)
  • "abuja" (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.
  
• Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.
• 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.
  • young_martins02@yahoo.fr (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: barrgab22@zipmail.com.br
Date: Sat, 8 Sep 2007 21:06:17 +0200
Subject: =?iso-8859-1?Q?CONTACT=20MY=20SECRETARY=20WITH=20YOUR=20CONTACTS=20=20?=



OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE GOVERNOR
OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE GOVERNOR
CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA
ZARIA STREET, GARKI
P.M.B. 0187, GARKI, ABUJA

DEAR latasha jackson

FIRST QUARTER PAYMENT NOTIFICATION ADVICE OF THE YEAR.IN OUR RESPONSE TO
INSTRUCTION FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OF NIGERIA TO RELEASE AND PAY ALL
FOREIGN CONTRACT FUNDS TO THEIR BENEFICIARIES, BY THE ORDER OF THE PRESIDENCY
IN FINANCIAL MATTERS, GOVERNOR OF CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA ON THIS DAY ISSUED
THE RELEASE OF YOUR FIFTEEN MILLION UNITED STATE DOLLARS (USD15,000,000.00)
RELEASE YOUR FUND PAYMENT CASH THROUGH A DIPLOMATIC COURIER SERVICE. THIS
IS BECAUSE THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OF NIGERIA HAS DIRECTED THAT ALL FOREIGN
PAYMENTS AT THIS TIME THAT INVOLVED HUGE SUMS OF MONEY LIKE THIS SHOULD
BE PAID CASH THROUGH A DIPLOMATIC COURIER SERVICE AS MEASURE TO CHECK TERRORIST
ACCOUNT OPERATION AND TO BE ABLE TO MONITOR EVERY PAYMENT. IN LINE WITH
THIS DEVELOPMENT,
THEREFORE THE GOVERNOR HAVE SIGNED THE PAYMENT TODAY. PAYMENT COVERING OVER
(USD200,000,000) CONTRACT SUM HAS BEEN RAISED OUT IN FAVOUR TO BE DRAWN
FROM CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA OFF SHORE ACCOUNT IN AMERICA AND EUROPE. I
ALSO WISH TO INFORM YOU THAT YOUR PAYMENT IS BEING PROCESSED AND WILL BE
RELEASED TO YOU THROUGH THE FOREIGN REMITTANCE DEPARTMENT OF THIS APEX BANK
AS SOON AS YOU RESPOND TO THIS LETTER. ALSO NOTE THAT FROM MY RECORD IN
MY FILE YOUR OUTSTANDING CONTRACT PAYMENT IS US $40 MILLION DOLLARS (FOURTY
MILLION UNITED STATES DOLLARS).PLEASE RE-CONFIRM TO US THE FOLLOWINGS:

1) YOUR FULL NAME.
2) PHONE, FAX AND MOBILE #.
3) COMPANY NAME, POSITION AND ADDRESS.
4) PROFESSION, AGE AND MARITAL STATUS.
5) COPY OF YOUR INT'L PASSPORT/DRIVING LICENSE AS A MATTER OF URGENCY,

YOU ARE HEREBY ADVISED TO CONTACT BARRISTER JOHN OBI , SECRETARY FOREIGN
AFFAIRS/ INFORMATION DEPARTMENT FOR THE MAILING OF YOUR PAYMENT. CONTACT
ON E-MAIL:(young_martins02@yahoo.fr)

BECAUSE OF THE INHERENT COMMUNICATION PROBLEM IN NIGERIA ON EMAIL ADDRESS:
AND FORWARD YOUR ADDRESS WHERE YOU WOULD LIKE THE BOXES TO BE SENT TO. AND
YOUR TELLEPHONE NUMBERS, ALSO YOU CAN AS WELL ARRANGE FOR A PHYSICAL COLLECTION
OF YOUR BOXES FROM THE CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA HERE. BE WARNED, YOU SHOULD
AVOID AND PREVENT ANY THING THAT CAN CAUSE UNNECESSARY DELAY, AS THIS MAY
BE THE LAST OPPORTUNITY FOR YOU TO RECEIVE YOUR PAYMENT, HENCE ALL YOUR
PASTEFFORTS AND CONTACTS HAVE FAILED YOU.

YOURS FAITHFULLY,
DR.BARR GAB.
SECRETARY FOREIGN AFFAIRS
INFORMATION DEPARTMENT
CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam