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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:
- "dear sir/madam" (a standard Nigerian greeting phrase)
- "your country for safe keeping" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
- "economic financial crime commission" (This name is often mentioned in money recovery scams (re-scam): the real EFCC does not contact victims to offer to get their money back because that is near impossible. )
- 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.
- andrewnnpc.com@gmail.com (Gmail/GoogleMail; can be used from anywhere worldwide)
Fraud email example:
From: ENGR.ANDREW YAKUBU <admin@beear.ml>
Reply-To: mike.lennnings@gmail.com
Date: Fri, 19 Jan 2018 14:38:34 +0100
Subject: INVESTMENT FUND IN YOUR COUNTRY!!!
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am Andrew Yakubu, the ex. Group Managing Director of NNPC. I have
$55.5m for Investment in your country.Recently as you may have read
or heard in the news media, the Economic Financial crime Commission
(EFFC) who are the agents of the government seized the sum of USD9.8
million from my Kaduna home and i have been subjected to some
investigations which have necessitated my decision to move the
remaining funds that is in the custody of a reputable security company
to your Country for safe keeping and for investment purposes. Please
do Contact me if you are interested but do not disclose to a third
party without my permission.
I shall be updating you with further clarifications once i get your
positive nod.
Please contact me on this email address: andrewnnpc.com@gmail.com
I thank you for your time.
Regards,
ENGR.ANDREW YAKUBU
EX. GROUP MANAGING DIRECTOR
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Anti-fraud resources:
