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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:
- "dr. sanusi" (the name of a person or institution often appearing in 419 scams)
- "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: "MRS SARAH ALADE" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <mrs.sarahalade1098@yahoo.com.hk>
Date: Sat, 5 Apr 2014 19:44:21 +0200
Subject: You are lucky this time
Do you now realize that your problem is over? You may ask how do I mean? The President has suspended the governor of the Central Bank, Dr. Sanusi Lamido and have asked me to take over. What you do not know is that this man has caused you so much pain even when he was called to order he wouldn't listen. He reigned as the Lord of the Manor. He never liked corrections and during his tenure I could not interfere or else he would suspend me for insubordination but today your God has fought your battle. Now your file is now under my watch and I want to sincerely assure you that fund money will be paid to you without hitches. Once you pay for the Withdrawal Approval Teller your fund will hit your account. It is only $250.00 and if you can send it this morning then thank your stars. Go through the link and read for yourself. http://news.ng.msn.com/national-news/jonathan-suspends-cbn-governor
Yours Sincerely,
Mrs. Sarah Alade,
Acting Governor,
Central Bank of Nigeria.
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Anti-fraud resources:
