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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:
- "dormant account" (Banks mentioned in 419 scams are always fake (real banks don't communicate using mobile phones or free webmail addresses))
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "MRS.EPIPHANIEBOGOHGNAMEN" <billealasko377@gmail.com>
Reply-To: ms.epiphaniebogohgnamen@hotmail.com
Date: Mon, 20 Mar 2023 15:22:35 +0100
Subject: 20-03-2023
My seasonal greetings to you and your family I am,the regional
manager and a Financial Director of a Major Commercial Bank here in my
country I am contacting you through this letter to offer you a
strictly confidential matter between you and me.I have personally
discovered a dormant account in the total amount of US$7,275,000.00
(SEVEN MILLION TWO HUNDRED SEVENTY FIVE THOUSAND US DOLLARS) in the
bank where I serve and I would like to transfer this money to a bank
account based in your country.
The holder of this dormant account died on February 21, 2012 and since
his death, the account has not experienced any movement or claim
because the account has NO BENEFICIARY.
I respectively hope for a positive response from you in order to give
you more information about this transaction.
Mrs.Epiphanie Bogohgnamen
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Anti-fraud resources:
