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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 sir/madam" (a standard Nigerian greeting phrase)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Eco Bank Burkina Faso." <eccbbb@yahoo.pt>
Reply-To: "Eco Bank Burkina Faso." <ecobank2014@mail333.com>
Date: Sun, 14 Dec 2014 19:36:20 +0000 (UTC)
Subject: (Eco Bank) Notice of Your Pending Transfer.
 Dear Sir/Madam     Â
Your payment has reflected several times in our computer as  pending and seems to have been forgetting. I understood that the powers that be are having interest and conflict on the funds with your local representatives from Africa.Â
We are also aware that you have made reasonable commitment towards releasing of these funds to no avail.
It will interest you to know that there is a way out, which when judiciously fully executed, will surely make a difference in your previous painstaking efforts so far.Â
All you are required is to provide us fresh bank account numbers and reconfirm your Amount of your inherited fund, and attach a copy of your international passport or drivers licence via email attachment for proper identification.Â
Your urgent response to this offer will guide us immensely in our decision making.
Kind regardsÂ
Director of Foreign Operations,Â
Eco BankÂ
P.O. box:01 BP 145 Ouagadougou 01,Â
Burkina Faso.
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Anti-fraud resources:
