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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:
- "trunk box" (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)
- "trunk boxes" (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)
- "you are advise to" (this email uses bad English)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Financial Crimes Enforcement Network" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <frcfincen.gov.state@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2018 08:42:09 +0100
Subject: Your fund ready for delivery
Financial Crime Enforcement Agency/
U.S custom and Border Protection.
101 Atlantic City International Airport,
Egg Harbor Township, NJ
08234, USA
United States.
Attention to:
Beneficiary,
What is going on? Be advised that we are still waiting to hear from you towards the clearance process and release of your fund to enable the agent proceed and complete the delivery to you as scheduled. I wish to inform you that your trunk boxes are still pending for clearance. You are advise to get back to us immediately and ensure that this clearance is done today to avoid having your fund confiscated. The agent is waiting for you to pay for he clearance for him to be able to proceed with the delivery.
Your immediate and urgent co-operation is needed or your fund will be confiscated.
Sincerely,
Angela Libio
FinCEN Acting Director.
U.S DEPARTMENT OF FINANCIAL CRIME ENFORCEMENT (FINCEN)
ATLANTIC CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRORT (ACY)
Cbp.gov |USA.gov | Regulations.gov | IRS.gov | Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) | NO FEAR Act | Accessibility | EEO & Diversity Policy | Reasonable Accommodation Policy | Privacy Policy | Google Privacy.
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Anti-fraud resources:
