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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: "CHARLES MARK" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <CHARLESMARK1122@GMAIL.COM>
Date: Mon, 7 Mar 2022 22:45:25 -0800
Subject: <B><I>DEAR BENEFICIARY</B></I></DIV>

DEAR BENEFICIARY
 
APPLICATION OF CHANGE OF ACCOUNT
 
WE WRITE TO INFORM YOU THAT THE INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND (IMF) GAVE INSTRUCTION TO OUR BANK HERE IN NIGERIA TO MAKE SURE THAT YOUR OUTSTANDING PAYMENT IS PAID TO YOU BEFORE THE END OF THIS MONTH.
 
YOUR NAME WAS AMONG THE LISTED BENEFICIARY THAT WAS PROGRAMMED FOR US TO BE PAID. WE ARE IN RECEIPT OF THE ACCOUNT DETAILS YOU SEND TO US TO CREDIT YOUR ACCOUNT WITH THE SUM OF US$25,500,000.00 (TWENTY FIVE MILLION FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND UNITED STATES DOLLARS).
 
THEREFORE, WE ARE USING THE BELOW ACCOUNT TO CREDIT YOUR US$25.5M AS YOU HAVE SUBMITTED TO THIS OFFICE. THE CREDITING BANK WILL BE INFORMED OF THIS DEVELOPMENT.
 
DO CONFIRM THE ACCOUNT ONCE MORE IF YOU ARE THE OWNER OF THE ACCOUNT INFORMATION BELOW AND FILL THE FORM ATTACHED WITH THIS MAIL. YOU CAN ALSO REPLY ON MY PRIVATE EMAIL BOX: charlesmark2020y@yandex.com
 
DRESDNER BANK AG ( NEW NAME COMMERZBANZ AG) FRANKFURT/MAIN-GERMANY
IBAN - DE5050080000664262700
SWIFT/BIC - DRESDEFF ACCOUNT -
664262700-400 / USD
ACC. OWNER: HOST BECKMANN
 
WE URGENTLY NEED YOUR RESPONSE.
 
YOU ARE ADVISED TO RESPOND TO THIS MAIL URGENTLY OR WE WILL TRANSFER
THE FUND TO THE ABOVE ACCOUNT AS DIRECTED.
 
REGARDS,
 
 
CHARLES MARK
DIRECTOR, FEDERAL MINISTRY OF FINANCE,
FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA

Anti-fraud resources: