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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:
- "federal republic of benin" (Benin, Cameroon, etc. are no Federal Republics, unlike Nigeria where this type of scam was invented)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Mr. Patrice talon" <"www."@crest.ocn.ne.jp>
Reply-To: "Mr. Patrice talon" <patricetalon299@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 18 Dec 2017 10:09:18 +0900 (JST)
Subject: Office Of Mr.President.
Federal Republic of Benin
Office Of Mr.President.
President Patrice Talon,GCFR.
Telex: FGB/GXTT/BJR2016.
I am Mr. Patrice talon, the president of Benin republic
i have not received any positive respond from you consigning your ATM Master Card or making a suggestion on how you wish to receive your abandoned ATM Master Card worth US$5.5Million,therefore you can come down here to the bank in Benin Rep to take it or
send your details for us to ship it to you home address
I don’t know the courier cost of shipping the card to you but if you permit me and accept the terms,then I can make an inquiry from the courier shipping company to find out the cost, but in that case you will be required to forward to me your address where you want to receive the card to enable me find out the shipping cost to your location. Your direct telephone number and address will be needed and more details of your ATM card payment will be made known to you as soon as I receive your swift positive response.
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Anti-fraud resources:
