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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:
- "% commission" (Beware of any scheme that involves depositing checks or money orders or receiving wire transfers in your bank account and then wiring a portion of the funds somewhere, for a percentage of 5-15% of the total. Such offers are *always* fraudulent and you will be liable for the entire amount when the checks, money orders or wire transfers turn out to be fraudulent. Any money already forwarded comes out of *your* pocket then. )
- "(ecowas)" (the name of a person or institution often appearing in 419 scams)
- "ecowas " (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.
Fraud email example:
From: "Mr.Stephen Baah" <mrmartinsford@gmail.com>
Reply-To: sbaah001@yahoo.com
Date: Sun, 20 Sep 2015 17:31:25 -0700
Subject: Attn:CEO/President
Attn:CEO/President,
We are looking for a reliable suppliers to supply to the Economic
Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The ECOWAS has Published
their 2015 Annual Projects, your products will be needed in large
quantity.I will appreciate if you Can send me the prices list and
Specification of your products by email for my study before applying
for you.
I am an accredited Agent registered with ECOWAS on contract
allocations, I am entitle to 2% commission from the total contract sum
as soon as the total contract fund is paid into your account.Their
payment method is 100% T/T upfront to your account after the contract
is signed between your company and ECOWAS.Let me know if you are
interested so that we can start negotiating the proceedings.
Regards,
Mr.Stephen Baah
CEO (President)
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Anti-fraud resources:
