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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:
- "chief auditor" (the name of a person or institution often appearing in 419 scams)
- "atm_payout_department@w.cn" (this email address looks like addresses used in "ATM SWIFT card" scams)
- "atm_payout_department@w.cn" (this email address has been used in a known scam)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: shanku@hathway.com
Reply-To: atm_payout_department@w.cn
Date: Sun, 09 Aug 2009 09:35:52 -0700
Subject: Our Ref: FGN /SNT/STB
Our Ref: FGN /SNT/STB
THIS IS TO OFFICIALLY INFORM YOU THAT YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS HAS BEEN ATTACH TO AN INHERITANCE FILE AND FOUND OUT THAT YOU HAVE NOT RECEIVED YOUR PAYMENT AND YOU HAVE NOT FULFILLED THE OBLIGATIONS GIVEN TO YOU IN RESPECT OF YOUR CONTRACT/INHERITANCE PAYMENT.
SECONDLY WE HAVE SECURE THE RELEASE OF THE FUND TO YOU.
YOU ARE To CONTACT THE INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUNDS DEPARTMENT CARD PAYMENT CENTER.
NAMES :Dr.SMITH ADU
EMAIL ADDRESS:atm_payout_department@w.cn
PHONE NUMBER: +234_702_594_4073
AND ALSO SEND THE FOLLOWING INFORMATIONS:
1. YOUR FULL NAME......
2. PHONE AND FAX NUMBER......
3. ADDRESS WERE YOU WANT THEM TO SEND THE ATM CARD.....
4. YOUR AGE/SEX.....
5. CURRENT OCCUPATION.....
6. PRESENT COUNTRY.....
THE ATM CARD PAYMENT CENTER HAS BEEN MANDATED TO ISSUE OUT AN ATM CARD VALUE OF {USD 6.8 MILLION} WHICH YOU WILL USE TO WITHDRAW YOUR MONEY IN ANY ATM MACHINE, IN ANY PART OF THE WORLD AS PAYMENT FOR THIS FISCAL YEAR 2009,YOU HAVE TO STOP ANY FURTHER COMMUNICATION WITH ANY OTHER PERSON(S) OR OFFICE(S) TO AVOID ANY HITCHES IN RECEIVING YOUR PAYMENT.
NOTE THAT BECAUSE OF IMPOSTORS, WE HEREBY ISSUED YOU OUR CODE OF CONDUCT, WHICH IS (ATM-822) SO YOU HAVE TO INDICATE THIS CODE WHEN CONTACTING THE CARD CENTER BY USING IT AS YOUR SUBJECT.
KINDEST REGARDS,
Mr J. C. WILLIAMS
CHIEF AUDITOR TO THE PRESIDENT
(COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN)
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Anti-fraud resources:
