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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:

Fraud email example:

From: Alan Robinson <officem653@gmail.com>
Reply-To: Alan Robinson <alan.ro110@aol.com>
Date: Thu, 19 Dec 2019 21:59:20 +0900 (JST)
Subject: Attention Dear Beneficiary.


I'm Alan Robinson, from the Treasury Department's Bureau of Fiscal Service (Unclaimed Fund Unit). I am contacting you regarding your unclaimed US$7,500,000.00 (Seven Million, five hundred thousand United State Dollar) that was held by the Benin financial authorities. We have been instructed by the consigned authorities to have it released to you. We have partnered with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to determine the quickest and most convenient way to receive your payment. 

You are receiving this notification because we have determined that the total fund will be released to you by uploading the total approved payment into a (Master/ Visa) Platinum Card that can be accessible at any ATM & Inter-Switch cash machine anywhere in the world. With this card, a maximum withdrawal value of US$5000.00 is permitted on withdrawal per day with a minimum of US$100 per withdrawal.

In this case, you are expected to reconfirm your Full Name (as stated on your government issued photo ID), shipping address and your Direct Cell Phone number, for immediate delivery of your card. Please ensure that all details are correctly stated to avoid wrong delivery. 

We expect your urgent response to this email as to enable us monitor this payment effectively.

I can be reached at +1 (202) 858-8425. Please call me or leave me a text.

Alan Robinson 
Unclaimed fund Unit

Anti-fraud resources: