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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:
- An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
- 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:
- "activation fee" (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. )
- "are expected to pay " (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. )
- "processing fee" (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. )
- "deadline" (scammers rush victims so they don't have time to think properly)
- "dear beneficiary," (this SPAM email was probably sent to thousands of people)
- "executive governor" (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.
- This email lists free webmail addresses. Use of such addresses is typical for scams. Lotteries, banks and any but the smallest of companies do not normally use such addresses. Criminals use them to anonymously send and receive email at Internet cafes.
- cbnregulatedprocess@consultant.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)
Fraud email example:
From: "Payment Approval"<compensation95.processing@hotmail.com>
Reply-To: <banki.moon.un.uk.gov@europe.com>
Date: Mon, 22 Dec 2014 15:31:03 -0800
Subject: United Nation
UNITED NATIONS / WORLD BANK ORGANIZATION / FBI
United Nations House-Newyork.
Our Ref: YBNGWB/UN/2014.
Attention: Dear Beneficiary,
APPROVED INSTANT COMPENSATION PAYMENT AWARD OF US$2.5MILLION
We have given irrevocable remittance instruction to Central Bank of Nigeria to transfer sum of $2.5million to you as compensation award. Every fee you are expected to pay before receiving $2.5million has been waived except processing and activation fee which is the only compulsory fee in the course of making payment to you. Therefore you are advised to contact the CBN Governor immediately with your name,Telephone number and your preferred option of payment (1) Online Transfer, (2) Swift Wire Transfer (3) Payment by Debit ATM Card.
Kindly request from CBN Governor how much is the processing fee and how you can send fee across to him in order to process payment to you before end of the year. Payment will be nullified if you exceed the deadline.
Contact the CBN Governor immediately on email below:
Name: Mr Godwin Emefiele
Position: Executive Governor of CBN
Email Address: cbnregulatedprocess@consultant.com
Congratulations,
Yours In Service,
Mrs Jessica Grant, Mr Ban Ki-Moon
UN Compensation 2014 Coordinator Secretary General
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Anti-fraud resources:
