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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.
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Mr. Chibuike Okpara" <sustainable_trust@yahoo.co.th>
Reply-To: dphead1@gmail.com
Date: Fri, 7 Dec 2012 22:23:18 +0800 (SGT)
Subject: Your protracted fund
Sir,
I am willing to assist you receive your fund Via ATM on the condition that you will not share this info with any of your local representative in this exercise due to the sensitivity of the subject.Note my support will not cost you anything but the only thing you must do to have immediate result is to adhere strictly to my instructions. I became interested in your case due to the fact that your fund has lingered for so long without payment.The payment via ATM became necessary in order to avoid long protocols associated with payment of this nature in my country. If we agree on this I will do the necessary and your ATM will be sent to you within 72hrs. And when you have received your card and fund confirmed, you can then reward me with whatever pleases you.
Best regards,
Mr. Chibuike Okpara
Director (HRM)
Federal Ministry of Finance Nigeria
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Anti-fraud resources:
