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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:
- "central bank of nigeria" (the name of a person or institution often appearing 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.
Fraud email example:
From: GOVERNOR CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA <officepost122@btinternet.com>
Reply-To: lamidusanusi@ymail.com
Date: Mon, 19 Jul 2010 23:06:58 +0000 (GMT)
Subject: OURGENT RESPONESE IS NEEDED.
ATTN: BENEFICIARY,
HOW ARE YOU TODAY? WHY HAVE YOU NOT RECEIVED YOUR FUND? AND WHO HAVE YOU BEEN DEALING WITH FOR SOME TIME NOW IN REGARDS OF YOUR PAYMENT, AFTER CROSS CHECKING YOUR FILE PAYMENT TODAY I FIND OUT THAT YOUR FUND IS DUE TO BE PICKED THROUGH CARTIGORY (B) WIRED TRANSFER MASTER CARD, PLEASE YOU ARE ADVISED TO FORWARD YOUR CONTACT ADDRESS INCLUDING YOUR TELEPHONE NUMBER YOUR BANKING DETAILS FOR THE PROGRAMMING OF YOUR WIRED TRANSFER, DO NOT HESSITATE TO RESPOND IMMEDIATELY YOU RECEIVE THIS EMAIL FOR PROPER REVALIDATION, SO I WILL ATTEND TO YOU AS SOON AS ALL THE RQUIRED PARTICULARS ARE FORWARDED TO ME.
LAMIDO SANUSI
GOVERNOR CENTRAL
BANK OF NIGERIA
TEL- +2348062486171.
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Anti-fraud resources:
