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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:
- "million united states dollars" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
- "dear beneficiary," (this SPAM email was probably sent to thousands of people)
- "executive governor" (the name of a person or institution often appearing in 419 scams)
- "central bank of nigeria" (the name of a person or institution often appearing in 419 scams)
- "abuja" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "FEDERAL MINISTRY OF FINANCE" <info@fmf.org>
Reply-To: federalministry.finance.gov@gmail.com
Date: Mon, 19 Sep 2022 00:17:16 -0700
Subject: YOUR PAYMENT FILE HAS BEEN DISCOVERED
OFFICE OF THE HONORABLE MINISTER OF FINANCE, FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA.
FEDERAL MINISTRY OF FINANCE HEADQUARTER.
816 AHMADU BELLO WAY,
CENTRAL BUSINESS DIS 900103,
ABUJA.
09.15/2022.
Dear beneficiary,
I recently called for the files of all foreign beneficiaries accumulated in the office of the executive governor of central bank of Nigeria and other subsidiary offices and I discovered one of your contract files and other documents proving that you are among the beneficiaries that have not received their approved payment by the central bank of Nigeria and the commercial banks charged with the remittance authorization. One of your files has a confirmation of unpaid $50.000.000.00(Fifty Million United States Dollars) belonging to you.
The president has ordered my office to investigate the cause of the delay of your fund transfer and also ensure that I find the easiest means of releasing your funds to you.
I therefore request that you reply to this email without delay and include your personal details to confirm that I am dealing with the right beneficiary of the above stated sum of money.
Thank you.
Yours Faithfully,
Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed.
Honorable Minister of Finance,
Federal Republic of Nigeria.
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Anti-fraud resources:
