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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: "REV. PAULSMITH" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <paul_smith300@yahoo.com>
Date: Thu, 19 Apr 2012 18:30:02 -0700
Subject: Good news.........Please get back to us for more information.
Good news, this is to inform you that your total fund has transferred to the Bank of America Texas USA, we gave them a code555 that you will use and contact them because of the impostor in Nigeria today. Note: that you will receive your fundthrough ATM Card,Please get back to us to enable us give you the Bank of America Texas USA contact information for you tocontact them for more information on how to receive your fund.
Yours truly,
REV. PAULSMITH
Director ATM Swift Card/Foreign Operation Dept,
Central Bank of Nigeria CBN.
Contact No: +234-80 320 91736
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Anti-fraud resources:
