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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:
- "money laundering" ("anti-terrorist", "anti-money laundering" or "drug-free" certificates are a common way for criminals in fake lottery scams and other Advance Fee scams to get you to send money to them. There are no such certificates in the real banking world. )
- "clearance certificate" (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. )
- "clearance certificate" (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. )
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Christopher A. Wray ( FBI DIRECTOR)" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <christopheraawary@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 15 Nov 2017 16:27:32 -0800
Subject: RESPOND IMMEDIATELLY OR WE MAY ISSUE YOUR WARRANT OF ARREST
Federal reserve bank headquarters Washington has notified us that US$10.5M has been received by them for further crediting to your bank account as the final beneficiary.
This money was transferred in your name and bank account without proper certification so we have placed the fund transfer on hold to prevent home based or international terrorism since we strongly suspect the fund is meant to sponsor terrorism or has drugs related origin.
Please note that if you fail to provide the FUND ORIGIN CLEARANCE CERTIFICATE (FOCC) we shall not delay to freeze your bank account, order your immediate arrest and charge you for suspected terrorism /drugs related money laundering pending our final investigation and final forfeiture of the fund.
If you do not have these documents in your possession get back to us so we direct you to the only acceptable agency from where this fund originated that is authorized to issue the documents in your favor.
On receiving this documents we will authorize Federal reserve bank to release your funds to your bank account.
Thanks
Christopher A. Wray
FBI DIRECTOR
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Anti-fraud resources:
