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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:
- The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "clearance certificate" (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. )
- "clearance certificate" (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. )
- "the consignment" (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)
- "consignment " (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)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: Bernard Anderson <dbdran80@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 9 Jan 2023 22:52:31 +0800
Subject: WAITING FOR YOUR RESPONSE
Attn:
I am Mr. Bernard Anderson an inspection officer at JFK Airport in New
York. In the course of carrying out an inspection exercise on some
abandoned luggage at the airport, I discovered a consignment box which
contains the sum of US$3.5M dollars which was abandoned due to lack of
Non-Inspection Clearance Certificate. The consignment box is in your
name.
I am contacting you is to know if you are still interested in
receiving it and I will have the consignment release to you as the
legitimate owner once you are ready to secure the Non-Inspection
Clearance Certificate. The fund will be shared between the two of us.
You get 70% while the remaining 30% will be for me.
Let me know if you are interested in this deal so that I can give you
more detail on how the transaction will be carried out.
Get back soon.
Best Regards,
Mr. Bernard
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Anti-fraud resources:
