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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:
- "inheritance funds" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "central bank of nigeria" (the name of a person or institution often appearing in 419 scams)
- This email message is a next of kin scam.
Fraud email example:
From: "CENTRAL BANK PAYMENT SCHEDULE" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <cbn.payoneerinc@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 27 May 2013 14:13:17 -0000
Subject: YOUR ATTENTION: BENEFICIARY (PAYMENT SCHEDULE...)
Attention: Beneficiary.
The Central Bank of Nigeria has confirmed the payment of $2.5 Million USD as your inheritance
funds which was supposed to be paid by Oceanic Bank (Now Liquidated by the Central Bank) four
years ago as the Next of Kin. Due to the unfortunate delay, the Apex bank is collaborating with
a card company in the United States to issue a valid and convenient payment system using the ATM
to make your payment. This is to ensure that beneficiaries whose payment have been delayed over
the years receive their fund quickly without any further problem or delay.
You are advised to reconfirm the following information for immediate processing of card and
payment transfer to an ATM which can be used in any part of the world.
Full Names
Address
Mobile Telephone number
Date of Birth
Driver License/International Passport
Your cooperation and compliance with the above information will be greatly be appreciated to
enable us complete this long over due process.
Thank you for adhering to this instruction and once again accept our congratulations.
Mr. Tunde Lemo
Deputy Governor (Operations)
Central Bank of Nigeria.
Office Tel: +234-1-7913221 (9 AM- 4 PM GMT)
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Anti-fraud resources:
