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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:
- "fund beneficiary" (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)
- "central bank of nigeria" (the name of a person or institution often appearing in 419 scams)
- "lagos" (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: "Dr. Jomo A. Adams" <jomoadams@gmail.com>
Reply-To: jomo_adams031@hotmail.com
Date: Tue, 4 Apr 2023 13:53:51 +0100
Subject: RE:SOLUTION TO YOUR LONG AWAITED PAYMENT
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CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA
CREDIT CONTROL & WIRE TRANSFER UNIT
TINUBU SQUARE, LAGOS NIGERIA
Attn: Fund Beneficiary,
I am of the idea that some cruel individuals have been sitting on your
payment after you have satisfactorily fulfilled the obligations required to
receive your contract sum.
Ask yourself this question. Do these individuals observe human rights? Do
they see you as a client that is clamoring for his payment and deserves to
be paid?. Some do contact you promising what they cannot do and allow you
to waste your money showing no feeling of humanity.
Make a serious U- turn now and give me attention and I will release the
payment to you to your surprise. The right channel does not take time.
All you need to do is to promise me a percentage of the total contract sum
US$10.5Million and I will make your dream come true. You don't need to
stress yourself any longer.
The following are my working tools:
1. CONFIDENTIALITY: You must not divulge any information regarding my
strategy to release the fund to you within a couple of days to any
individual(s) you were transacting with previously no matter how friendly
you might think you are with the person(s) as they are snakes under the
green grass but you don't know.
2. TRUSTWORTHINESS: You are going to receive this fund now, I am sure. Your
YES must YES and your NO must be NO. The percentage we may agree on must be
given to me immediately you confirm the whole fund in your bank account.
Should I commence?. If yes, respond to me.
Accept my best wishes for the season and God bless.
Yours Faithfully.
Dr.Jomo A.Adams.
New Banking Reform Executive
Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN)
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