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:

• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "very confidential" (scammers urge victims to keep the transaction secret because they don't want anyone to point out to them that it is a scam)
  • "dear beneficiary," (this SPAM email was probably sent to thousands of people)
• This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
  

Fraud email example:

From: "Bashiru Bakare" <babkfbn01@fastwebmail.it>
Reply-To: babkfbn001@yahoo.com
Date: Tue, 8 Jul 2008 09:00:06 +0100
Subject: Payment Notification..


Dear Beneficiary,

You are reading from me as regards the problems that have long associated
with your inability to claim your approved payment from The Federal
Government of Nigeria. Your payment has long been approved but you have not
been able to receive it as a result of gross misconduct and illicit acts
been exhibited in the past by some top government officials in some of our
departments.

According to our records, you belong to the list of beneficiaries that the
Federal Government of Nigeria is indebted to but are yet to be paid due to
one problem or the other. As the government has vested on our bank the full
authority to pay all outstanding debts to their various foreign
beneficiaries without further delay, it therefore becomes neccessary to
reach you with the available information we are able to retrieve from the
submitted files of stakeholders who are yet to receive their payments and
our bank has been mandated to transfer your approved payment to any country
of your choice after you shall have replied to this mail.

The money will either be transferred to a nominated account of your choice
anywhere in the world, or paid to you with a certified bank check/cheque,
bank draft or with an ATM debit card depending on your preferred choice of
payment.

As a Man of dignity, I have nothing to gain by keeping your fund, I will do
the best I can so that you can receive your fund, so you have to follow up
and work with me. Please keep this very confidential to prevent any leakage
of information because fraudsters and impostors.

Please be informed that your money will be paid with all accrued interests
in
United States Dollars (US$).

You are equally advised to confirm the following information to me for
scrutiny:

Personal information,
Phone and fax numbers,
Other important information

Regards,
Bashiru Bakare
First Bank of Nigeria Plc

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam