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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. )
- "fund beneficiary" (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 and financial crimes 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. )
- "(efcc)" (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. )
- "abuja" (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. IBRAHIM MAGU" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <nig.efcc.gv@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 12 Nov 2018 08:55:40 +0100
Subject: ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!!
ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL CRIMES COMMISSION (EFCC)
ABUJA-NIGERIA.
FROM THE OFFICE OF THE ACTING CHAIRMAN.
ATTN:
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is a Nigerian law enforcement agency that investigates financial crimes such as advance fee fraud and money laundering acts like your case whereby you have spent so much money trying to claim what is rightfully yours but at the end of the day you will not get it and rather you lose the little you have before.
However, this EFCC department says enough is enough, for how long are we going to fold our arms to watch, sit and relax while these uneducated hoodlums cheat, steal and scam away all that we have worked for without anything to show for it. This message is meant for you to discontinue whomever or whichever office you have been dealing with or sending money to because enough is enough, the bad name being stamped on this great nation must be cleared throughout the whole wide world and it starts now and it starts with you as fund beneficiary.
We need your utmost cooperation to fish out these bastards and make them face the law while we take back your money from them and anything they have already collected from you. The time is now! Please we need you to forward any or every details you have on any criminal/scammer/fraudster that have asked you for money before and from any office at all.
Please help us fight against these crimes and clear the image of the country and help you regain what you have lost and you also still get your fund approved by Federal government and the finance minister.
Respectively yours'
Ibrahim Magu
Acting chairman EFCC
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Anti-fraud resources:
