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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.
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "UNITED NATIONS" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <info-unitednations@in.com>
Date: Mon, 28 Jun 2010 18:55:49 +0100
Subject: IMPORTANT PLS !!
ATTN: PLS.
This is to inform you that your name and email address was among the list sent to us by FBI USA as one of the forign bases people who had abandoned their inherited/contract payment funds. Acceding to the FBI explanations,you abandoned your fund because you were denied your right of having your your fund in your foreign account by the paying bank here in Africa. You got tired of the bank frequently asking you to for access fees for one thing or the other.
Well, We have to apologize unbehalf of your paying bank and we promise to deal with them accordingly. Now you have to re-confirm your information's with the bellow form to enable us cross-check it with the one sent to us with FBI to know if you are the real bonafide beneficiary of the said fund
PLS RE-CONFIRM BELLOW INFORMATION'S
1. FULL NAME...
2. COUNTRY.....
3.CONTACT NUMBER.....
4.AGE...
5.SEX.......
6.OCCUPATION......
7. AMOUNT EXPECTING...
8.PAYING BANK'S NAME.....
9.SOURCE OF FUND: INHERITANCE OR CONTRACT PAYMENT.......
10. AMOUNT YOU HAVE SPENT TO HAVE YOUR FUND....
At the receipt of your re-confirmed informations, if we found out that you are the bonafide beneficiary of the fund, you shall be compensated by the paying bank while your fund will be transferred to your country account by the CENTRAL BANK through their online fund transfer . In our nest mail to you, the CENTRAL BANK contact details will be sent to you so you can contact them with your account details to enable them transfer your fund to you without more further delays.
Note: Your fund will be transferred to your foreign account within 48hrs after you have contacted Central Bank Nigeria.
Once again we apologize unbelief of your paying bank. We wait for your urgent response to enable us commence the process.
Thanks
Mrs Kathy Cole
Secretary United Nations
Foreign Affairs DPT
Africa
Sign
United Nations Secretary
Ban Ki-moon.
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Anti-fraud resources:
