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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:
- "tax clearance" (this will cost you money - be careful with upfront payments to anyone you only know through email, especially if they promise you a lot of money. NEVER send money by Western Union or MoneyGram to people you do not know personally - NO EXCEPTIONS! Instant wire transfer services are not meant to be used with strangers because they offer no protection against fraud. That is precisely why the criminals want you send money that way. )
- "tax clearance" (Tax offices mentioned in 419 scams are always fake. Even after you pay their fake tax demands you will still not receive the non-existent funds you have been promised. )
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "SD" <biuro@bpikr.pl>
Reply-To: invbrics@gmail.com
Date: Wed, 31 Aug 2022 09:46:37 -0700
Subject: Trust Bid
Hello,
This is not a typical or will I say a bogus random email that goes around the net. What will convince you to consider on collaborating with a group of government officials who contacted me with an offer.
Moving forward with this will require a meeting in person. I’m a silent broker in this relationship and based in Europe (Utrecht). You will be entrusted with a huge sum, it will be transferred to you. A high compensation awaits you, the remaining balance (minus the interest, handling and tax clearance charges, which will be offset by us and deducted from the transfer sum) to a nominated bank account in your country.
An NDA will be established with mutual interest. Let me state clearly here that the account you will be providing does not need to have funds in it; it is only needed to be active and be able to receive the funds in question. And looking forward to hear from you.
Respectful,
Syeds Daan
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Anti-fraud resources:
