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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.
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
- This email lists mobile phone numbers. Use of such numbers is typical for scams because they allow criminals to conceal their true location. They can receive calls in an Internet cafe from where they send you emails, while pretending to be in some office.
Fraud email example:
From: Ministry of Finance <info@finance-ng.de>
Reply-To: finance.ministry@sapo.pt
Date: Sat, 26 Sep 2020 04:14:31 -0700
Subject: IMPORTANT INFORMATION,
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From: MR. Dogara James
We wish to have your clarification of one Mr. Fenandes Weber who
approached us with a legal court document for a change in your account
directing your entitled interest fund be released into it. Please can
you confirm if such a directive is coming from your before we commence
payment into it.
We have agreed to release your contract sum in two (2) installments with
the first paid after our reconfirmation and proof of your identity while
the second part will be released at the last quarter of the year.
This is in-line with our agreement with international bodies calling for
debt review/relief of outstanding payments to assurge the effects of the
ongoing pandemic.
RECONFIRM YOUR IDENTITY Full names, address, phone number and a scanned
copy of your id or utility bill. Thank you as we await your cooperation.
Yours Sincerely,
MR. Dogara James
Operations manager
Finance Ministry
Direct line: 2349076395598
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Anti-fraud resources:
