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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 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)
- "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.
Fraud email example:
From: "T. Lemo" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <tdlemo@yahoo.com.hk>
Date: Mon, 15 Sep 2014 18:14:59 +0100
Subject: FROM FOREIGN PAYMENT RELEASE ORDER FROM THE GOVERNMENT.
Attention: The Approved Beneficiary,
Sir,
FOREIGN PAYMENT RELEASE ORDER FROM THE GOVERNMENT.
We have noted your informations. Be advised that final reconciliation of your payment has been successfully completed. Consequently, approval has been granted for a release and payment of US$10M (Ten Million United States Dollars) only as accrued interest and part-payment of your due amount. Final transfer of the approved sum to your bank account will be executed through our correspondence Bank in Europe by MT103 or through internationally acceptable monetary instruments as soon as you confirm your willingness to receive the above sum as (first installment) part payment of your total due sum and also sign the originals of your Fund Release Order (FRO) documents.
Note that you must endorse the documents in the premises of our bank or under the supervision of the authorized officials of the World bank in Europe (National Irish Bank), the domicile of the correspondence paying bank. It is after the endorsement of the originals that final transfer of the part payment of US$10M will be activated through MT103 by our correspondence bank to your bank account. You should notify us about when you shall visit our bank premises in Abuja Nigeria or the correspondence bank in Dublin Ireland or London UK or Canada to execute the documents.
Thanks as we look forward to your reply.
T. Lemo
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)
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Anti-fraud resources:
