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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:
- "transfer into your account" (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)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
- This email lists mobile phone numbers. Use of such numbers is typical for scams because they allow criminals to conceal their true location. They can receive calls in an Internet cafe from where they send you emails, while pretending to be in some office.
- +2348064832743 (Nigeria, prepaid mobile phone)
Fraud email example:
From: "From Dr. Patrick Ego" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <patego.01@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, 15 Aug 2009 09:22:40 -0700
Subject: Central Bank of Nigeria.
Attention:
My name is Dr. Patrick Ego; I am the Director Foreign Funds Payment Department Central Bank of Nigeria. I am delighted to contact you directly for open confession and for you to know the truth of the matter and the reason why you have not received your overdue contract inheritance approved sum of Twelve Million Five Hundred Thousand Dollars Only ($12.5M) up to this time.
The truth is that your local partner or representative whom claimed to have introduced you into this contract inheritance payment came to my office some time ago as the Director Foreign Funds Payment Department Central Bank of Nigeria who is in charge of all foreign transfer and made an agreement with me to assist him and transfer your $12.5M to you and he will pay me compensation sum of $250,000 as soon as you confirm your funds into your account.
The agreement was signed between both of us without legalizing it in the court and after I commenced on the processing of the fund transfer in my Central Transfer Swift Board ready for final transfer into your account, your local partner decided to play over my intelligence by deciding to abandon me and use a Cash Diplomatic System of payment through this Bank to deliver your payment to you in your country without my consent not knowing that the Cash Diplomatic System Payment office Is under my department and when I found out I stopped all the movement of the payment and he went at my back to use ATM System of Payment to pay you without knowing that it is under my department and I stopped it again.
Last week your local representative still came back to my office to plead with me for a fresh agreement to transfer the fund into your account again and promise not to disappoint me again and he submitted the below bank account details on your behalf for the transfer:
Bank Name: DEUTSCHE BANK TRUST COMPANY AMERICAS
Bank Address: 300002, Russia Tula, Zarechensky area, street
Account Name: Edward Smith
Account Number: 04410090
Swift code: BKTR US 33
When I looked into this account details I observed that the name of the account holder is different from your own name and I decided to contact you directly to know if you are the true beneficiary of this account and also let you know the simple reason why you have not received your payment up to this time.
Please kindly go through the above bank details and confirm to me if the account is your correct bank account details and get back to me immediately to avoid paying to the wrong account. Feel free to call me on +234-806-4832743 as soon as you read this message before the transfer will be effected.
With Regards,
Dr. Patrick Ego;
Director Foreign Funds Payment Department.
Central Bank of Nigeria.
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