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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:
- "dear friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "from the desk of" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "i will like you to " (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "top secret" (scammers urge victims to keep the transaction secret because they don't want anyone to point out to them that it is a scam)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: Kabiru Ahmed <ahmedkabiru601@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 15 Jan 2014 11:45:10 +0000
Subject: IMPORTANT MESSAGE FOR YOU
>From The Desk Of Mr. Ahmed Kabiru
Audits & Accounts Dept Bank Of Africa
(B.O.A) Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
Dear Friend,
I am Mr. Ahmed Kabiru, the manager Audit & Accounts dept at the BANK
OF AFRICA (B.O.A) Ouagadougou Burkina Faso. I am writing to request
your assistance to transfer the sum of $10.5 million USA Dollars into
your receiving bank accounts.
The transfer is risk free on both sides hence you will follow my
instructions till the fund gets to your account. More detailed
information with the official application form will be forwarded to
you to explain more comprehensively what is required of you. Please, i
will like you to keep this proposal as a top secret and delete it if
you are not interested.
Your response would be highly appreciated.
Yours Sincerely,
Mr. Ahmed Kabiru
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Anti-fraud resources:
