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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:
- "dear friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "stamp duty" (this will cost you money - be careful with upfront payments to anyone you only know through email, especially if they promise you a lot of money. NEVER send money by Western Union or MoneyGram to people you do not know personally - NO EXCEPTIONS! Instant wire transfer services are not meant to be used with strangers because they offer no protection against fraud. That is precisely why the criminals want you send money that way. )
- "tntservice08@outlook.com" (this email address has been used in a known scam)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: Tony Bernard <mr.daniel961@yahoo.pt>
Reply-To: Tony Bernard <tntservice08@outlook.com>
Date: Tue, 9 Dec 2014 07:45:03 +0000 (UTC)
Subject: YOUR ATM CARD
 Dear Friend,
Due to too much requirement from government and other offices in concern we have decide to credited your fund into an atm card and mail to you. I have registered the ATM MASTER CARD with TNT COMPANY this morning as we agreed that the delivery will take off Monday morning based on my agreement with TNT Director Mr. Mathew Foyas.MOST IMPORTANT: reconfirm your current delivery address to him include your phone number then contact TNT via the following email: tntservice08@outlook.com
Note that you will pay for atm card parcel insurance stamp duty only which is $98 usd so ask them where to send the fee and Your amount in the Card is US$4.5Million,the Pin code of your ATM CARD is: {4812} please keep your pin code secret because it is like key to your fund. They will also give you delivery tracking details.
Thanks
Tony Bernard
United Bank For Africa
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Anti-fraud resources:
