joewein.net   joewein.de LLC
fighting spam and scams on the Internet
Try our spam filter!
Free trial for 30 days
  jwSpamSpy

Home
About Us
Spam
419/Nigeria
Fraud
Contact

"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: "Mr. Bernard Lauwers" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <tg.csag@yandex.com>
Date: Sat, 16 Apr 2022 04:33:43 -0700
Subject: IMMEDIATE ACTION NEEDED

You have been selected as a Beneficiary of "five million US dollars(US$5,000,000) COVID-19 Stimulus Payment. This is part of the "International Monetary Fund(IMF) and the American Rescue Plan Program". Payment allocation is based on the bilateral agreement reached by the IMF Executive Council and the United States Government, which focused on financial recovery for individuals and businesses, from the harsh economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
 
You have about ten(10) business days to claim this fund to avoid re-allocation to other beneficiaries, 10 days after this notification. Respond for further details.
 
Regards,
 
Mr. Bernard Lauwers
Director of Finance,
International Monetary Fund(IMF)
700 19th Street, N.W.,
Washington, D.C. 20431, USA
 

Anti-fraud resources: