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: Maria Luiza Viotti <ireed4858@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 1 Sep 2022 08:51:45 -0700
Subject: VERY URGENT!!!

ATTN: Beneficiary,

This is to inform you that We have been working towards the
eradication of fraudsters and scam Artists across the globe with the
help of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), European Union (EU),
the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank (WB) and Federal
Bureau of Investigation (FBI). We have been able to track down so many
of these scam artists in various parts of the world and they are all
in Government custody now. They will appear at the International
Criminal Court (ICC) Hague (Netherlands) soon for Criminal/Fraud
Justice.

During the course of our investigation, we have been able to recover
so much money from these scam artists. The United Nations Anti-Crime
Commission, International Monetary Fund and World Bank have ordered
the money recovered from the Scammers to be shared among scam victims
as compensation. This message is being directed to you because your
Email address was found in one of the Scam Artist's files and computer
hard-disk during the course of our investigation. You are therefore
being compensated with the sum of $1,500,000.00 (One Million Five
Hundred Thousand United States Dollars).

We have also arrested some of those who claim that they barristers,
bank officials, Lottery Agents who has been sending you SMS on your
phone that you have won a lottery which does not exist. Since your
Email address appeared among the beneficiaries who will receive the
compensation funds, we have arranged your payment through Automated
Teller Machine (ATM) card due to the hitches involved in wire transfer
of huge funds. An ATM Card will be issued in your name and delivered
to your designated address with the Secret Pin Number, to enable you
withdraw your funds from any ATM worldwide.

For the issuance of the ATM Visa Card, you are therefore advised to
contact the ATM Card Issuance Department immediately with the below
contact details:

CONTACT PERSON: Dr. Chester Lethbridge (United Nations Envoy)
EMAIL: atmdepartmentt055@gmail.com

Contact him immediately for the processing/delivery of your ATM Card.
As soon as you contact him, an ATM card will be issued to you which
you can use to withdraw your funds in any ATM around the world. You
can also use the ATM card for cash withdrawal at Point of Sale (PoS)
terminals and to shop/buy items online. Note that the Daily ATM
Withdrawal Limit is $2,500.00 and Daily Debit Purchase Limit is
$9,000.00. The ATM card comes with a handbook or manual to enlighten
you about how to use it, even if you do not have a bank account.

You are advised to contact him with the following information as stated below:

1.Full Name:
2.Contact Address (Not P.O Box)
3.Telephone Number:
4.Occupation:
5.Scan Copy of ID card/Drivers License

Please be warned, as the United Nations Anti-Crime Commission, World
Bank and International Monetary Fund have not instructed any other
Bank or agent in regard to this except (Dr. Chester Lethbridge) and
from now on, we advice you to stop further communications with any
other Agent or bank officials in Europe, Asia and Africa regarding
your payment.

Thanks for your understanding as you adhere to instructions.

Yours in Service,
Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti.
Chef de Cabinet, United Nations.

Anti-fraud resources: