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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:
- "million dollars" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
- "hundred thousand united states dollars" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
- "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.
Fraud email example:
From: "CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA (CBN)" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <governor@cenbank-nig.org>
Date: Fri, 28 Feb 2014 13:02:38 -0000
Subject: RE: OUTSTANDING INHERITANCE
CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA
OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
TINUBU SQUARE,LAGOS- NIGERIA
OUR REF: CBN/BEN/2004/13
Attn: Beneficiary
RE: OUTSTANDING INHERITANCE PAYMENT/CONTRACT#MAV/NNPC/FGN/MIN/2004/13.
From The Records of Outstanding Contracts Due For Payment With The Federal Government Of Nigeria, Your Name And Company Was Discovered As Next On The List Of Outstanding Beneficiary Who Has Not Received Their Payments.
I Wish to Inform You That Your Payment Has being processed and will be Released To You As Soon As You Respond To This Letter. Also note that from Records in My File Your Outstanding Contract inheritance Part Payment Is $2.5 Million Dollars (Ten Million Five Hundred Thousand United States Dollars} And The Balance Will Paid To You on The First Quarter of 2014.
To this end, you are required to indicate your mode of payment.
1)BY TELEGRAPHIC TELEX TRANSFER
2)BY CASH DELIVERY BY DIPLOMATIC MEANS TO YOUR DOOR STEP
3)BY CERTIFY BANK DRAFT
4)BY ATM MASTER CARD
5)BY ONLINE TRANSFER PAYMENT THROUGH OUR US/UK CORRESPONDING BANK
We Request That You Kindly Re-Confirm To Me/This Office If This Is In Line With What You Have In Your Record And Also Re-Confirm The Followings Below:
1} Your Full Name
2} Your Phone and Fax Numbers
3} Your Company Address and Position
4} Your Marital Status, Profession and Age.
5} Your Means of Identification
As Soon As this Information is received, your Payment Arrangement Will Be Finalized Via Any Of Your Preferred Payment Method Directly From The Central Bank Of Nigeria And A Confirmation Will Be Made Available To You.
Yours In Service
Mrs.Sarah Alade
Acting Governor
Central Bank of Nigeria
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Anti-fraud resources:
