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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:
- "from the desk of" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- ",500,000" (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)
- "00,000.00" (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)
- "abuja" (a location commonly mentioned 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: "MR.CHARLES MICHAEL" <geraldo@boldrini.org.br>
Reply-To: mr.charles_micheal@hotmail.com
Date: Sun, 22 Jun 2014 05:22:56 -0300 (BRT)
Subject: FROM ATM/SWIFT OFFICE
FROM THE DESK OF MR. Charles Michael
DIRECTOR ATM SWIFT CARD CENT RE.
Foreign Remittance Payment Department,
Federal Capital Territory Wuse Zone 11
Abuja Nigeria.
TELL: +234-081-8121-736
ADVISE: YOUR OUTSTANDING PAYMENT NOTIFICATION;
This is to officially inform you that an (ATM Card
number:5083-0521-0049-8370) has been accredited in your favor, as we
begin our First Fiscal Payment of the Year 2014. It was observed after
serials of petitions was table to the Federal Government by the
International Bodies on the way in which your payment was handled in
the past by our corresponding agencies.
Your Personal Identification Number is 8228. The ATM Card Value is
US$2,500,000.00. We therefore advice that you keep in contact with me
with the following information:
Full Name:..........
Full Address........
Phone Numbers........
Age.......
Occupation........
And an attached copy of your identification for immediate fund release.
Respectfully,
MR. Charles Michael
DIRECTOR ATM SWIFT CARD CENT
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Anti-fraud resources:
