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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:
- 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:
- "terrorist clearance certificate" ("anti-terrorist", "anti-money laundering" or "drug-free" certificates are a common way for criminals in fake lottery scams and other Advance Fee scams to get you to send money to them. There are no such certificates in the real banking world. )
- "clearance certificate" (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. )
- "clearance certificate" (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. )
- "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.
Fraud email example:
From: MISS KATHERINE UZOEGBU <herr317@bellsouth.net>
Reply-To: misskatherineuz@hosanna.net
Date: Mon, 10 May 2010 13:26:34 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: FROM KATHERINE UZOEGBU
CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA
ZARIA STREET GARKI ABUJA NIGERIA
P.M.B 0187
FCT ABUJA.
ATTN: "(BENEFICIARY)
HURRY NOW AND CLAIM YOUR FUND FROM THE CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA OR YOUR FUND WILL BE CONFISCATED
BY THE WICKED OFFICIALS OF THE CBN. MY NAME IS MISS KATHERINE UZOEGBU I AM A COMPUTER SCIENTIST
WORKING WITH CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA CBN. I AM 27 YEARS OLD, JUST STARTED WORKING WITH CBN. I
CAME ACROSS YOUR FILE MARKED BAD AND YOUR RELEASED DISK PAINTED RED. I TOOK TIME TO STUDY IT AND
TRIED TO FIND OUT WHY THE FUNDS WERE NOT RELEASED TO YOU. THOSE EVIL OFFICIALS CAN NEVER TELL YOU
THE TRUTH THAT THEY WON'T RELEASE THE FUND TO YOU INSTEAD THEY ALLOW YOU SPEND YOUR MONEY
UNNECESSARILY. I DO NOT INTEND TO WORK HERE FOREVER; I CAN HELP YOU CLAIM YOUR FUND IF YOU CAN
CERTIFY ME OF MY SECURITY AND ASSURE ME THAT YOU WOULD SETTLE WITH ME AFTER YOU MUST HAVE
RECEIVED YOUR PAYMENT. I MUST DO THIS BECAUSE YOU NEED TO KNOW THE STATUS OF YOUR PAYMENT AND
CAUSE FOR THE DELAY. THIS IS LIKE A MAFIA SETTING IN NIGERIA AND YOU MAY NOT UNDERSTAND BECAUSE
YOU ARE NOT A NIGERIAN. THE ONLY THING NEEDED TO RELEASE THIS FUND TO YOU IS
ONCE THE ORIGINAL ANTI DRUG AND TERRORIST CLEARANCE CERTIFICATE IS CLEARED, FUND WILL IMMEDIATELY
REFLECT IN YOUR BANK WITHIN 10 MINUTES. THE ONLY AUTHORIZED AND SINCERE PERSON WHO WILL ISSUE YOU
THE ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS IS MRS. DOREEN DICKSON. MAKE SURE YOU INDICATE YOUR FILE LETTER BAD AND
TELL HER ITS PAINTED COLOR RED SO SHE WILL BE ABLE TO RECOGNIZE YOUR FILE. THE PRESIDENT MADE A
COMPENSATION FUND RELEASE FOR ALL UNPAID BENEFICIARIES AND CONTRACTORS. THEREFORE, YOU ARE NOT
GOING TO RECEIVE YOUR ORIGINAL INITIAL FUND, THE COMPENSATION FUND RELEASE BONUS WILL BE ADDED TO
YOUR ORIGINAL FUND PAYMENT. THE WHOLE FUNDS BOTH YOUR INITIAL PAYMENT AND THE COMPENSATION
PAYMENT SHALL BE TRANSFERRED TO YOUR BANK ACCOUNT AS SOON AS THE ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS ARE CLEARED.
DO GET BACK TO ME ASAP IF YOU ARE STILL INTERESTED IN CLAMING YOUR FUND.
YOURS SINCERELY,
MISS KATHERINE UZOEGBU
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Anti-fraud resources:
