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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:
- "cost of transfer" (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. )
- "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)
- "million 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)
- This email message is a next of kin scam.
Fraud email example:
From: Brian Thomas <luthben3@gmail.com>
Reply-To: infomyoffice30@aol.com
Date: Tue, 4 Apr 2023 23:53:45 -0700
Subject: Attention Beneficiaries
Dear Beneficiary,
Greetings from the Ora bank Benin Republic ( BOA ). I have vital
information which needs to be attended to immediately. Meanwhile, Did
you authorize anyone to claim your inheritance fund? Please note that
Mr. Andrew Cox came to our office today in-respect of
your $2.5 million USD dollars which has been credited with us for the
past one year now by the Benin Republic federal government to be
transferred
into your account.
He said that you authorized him to claim your fund as soon as possible
so that's why we are contacting to inform you that Mr. Andrew Cox want
to claim your fund $2.5 million USD dollars This fund has been in our
custody for the past one year now and we have been waiting for you to
contact us but we didn't know what is holding you from reaching out to
us since.So we decided to write to you to make sure that you are fine
and aware of your inheritance fund of $2.5 million dollars in our
office.
Kindly get back to us with the following details:
Full Name:
Address:
Country:
Direct telephone number:
Occupation:
ID Card:
These above listed details are needed as fast as possible if you
didn't authorize anyone to claim your fund in our office We have 3
means which you can use to receive your fund and you are to choose the
suitable option for you.
Here are the options:
(1) Bank to Bank wire transfer: It will take only 24 hours for you to
receive your fund into your preferred account. The cost of transfer
charge is $165.
(2) ATM Card delivery: It will take 72 hours for you
to receive your ATM card with the $2.5 Million US Dollar into the card.
The maximum amount you can withdraw daily is $10.000. The delivery fee
is $150.
(3) Consignment box delivery: Your fund will be sealed in a box
without anyone knowing what is inside it and it will be delivered to
your house in cash. It will take 2 working days to be delivered to
your house This will cost $105.
The above mentioned options are the medium which you can use to
receive your fund safely. Endeavor to get back to us as fast as you
can with your details and suitable option if you didn't authorize
anyone to claim your fund in our office. Your urgent attention is
needed to enable us to proceed with the transaction as your fund is
ready for delivery.
Thank you.
Brian Thomas
CEO Ora-bank Benin Republic
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Anti-fraud resources:
