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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:
- "lagos" (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: Mr Stephen Brown <www.@royal.ocn.ne.jp>
Reply-To: Mr Stephen Brown <fedexdeliverycompany11@yahoo.com>
Date: Sat, 22 Sep 2018 18:14:19 +0900 (JST)
Subject: Dear Customer,
Dear Customer,
This email is coming to you as a reminder concerning your pending package
that has been with us for a long time. As you already know that this
package is containing an International ATM CARD in your name and in the
amount of $9.5 million usd.
This email is to let you know that our delivery team has finally carried
out delivery of your package. The package left Lagos Nigeria on August 18th,
2018 and since on the 18th of August, 2018 it has been in Memphis awaiting
custom clearance.
To track your package, go to www.fedex.com and insert the tracking number
below to view delivery status.
www.fedex.com
Tracking Number: 875531681014
On the tracking page you will see that this package is going to a wrong
address. This is because you have refused to give us your cooperation. You
are hereby adviced to provide us with the below details so we can
immediately have it sent out to our deliverymen in Memphis.
HERE IS THE INFORMATION NEEDED FROM YOU;
1. Full Name. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2. Residential Address. . . . . . . . . . .
3. Phone Number. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4. Fax Number. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5. Occupation. . . . . . . . . . . . .
6. Sex. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
7. Age. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
8. Nationality. . . . . . . . . . .
9. Country. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Signed by
Mr Stephen Brown
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Anti-fraud resources:
