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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:
- "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: "Emmanuel AKPEKI SAN" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <emmanuela82@yahoo.com>
Date: Tue, 25 Jul 2017 20:04:36 -0700
Subject: Dear Beneficiary
Dear Beneficiary
Be informed that the World Bank Auditors are presently in Partnership with the Nigerian Senate sitting in Abuja Nigeria supervising the payment of outstanding foreign beneficiaries which you are next on the list
The Fund has been duly approved and gazetted for payment to you via VISA CREDIT CARD which is in partnership with Visa International and can be used through any e-payment channel (ATM and POS terminal) where visa is accepted.
Your Personal Identification Number is 0920. The ATM Visa Card is Valued at US$10.5M Only.You are advised to reconfirm the under listed information's for clarity and
avoidance of error; Your particulars(ie) Mailing Address,full Name,Phone Number.
Waiver has been granted for the registration and delivery of the card to your address.
Your prompt response will expedite action on the fund transfer.
Regards,
Emmanuel AKPEKI SAN
Principal Secretary to
Dr Bukola Saraki
Senate President
Federal Republic of Nigeria
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Anti-fraud resources:
