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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:
- "from the desk of" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "the 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)
- "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)
- "lagos" (a location commonly mentioned 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.
Fraud email example:
From: "Mr. Joe Roland" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <myofficialbox@live.com>
Date: Sun, 21 Feb 2010 21:32:23 -0800
Subject: Details.
>From The Desk Of
Mr. Joe Roland.
Oceanic Bank Securities Warehouse of Nigeria.
Attn: Consignee.
This is to inform you that arrangements have been concluded as regards to the shipment of your cash consignment of your inheritance to you. The management chooses to conclude arrangement and make sure it is all ready for shipping before contacting you. I found out that this consignment has been lying here because of non-payment of shipment fees. This is why we decided that we should use diplomatic means to deliver this fund to you.
The consignment has left Lagos Nigeria yesterday night en-route via London/USA. It is a metal box, with a weight of about 78kg approximately, the box is declared as containing delivery/Bank Documents only. Call me immediately so that I can give you the name, phone numbers of the shipping agent that is in charge in USA so that you confirm when the consignment will arrive.
Warning!: The content of the consignment is Money but declared as Bank Documents to avoid diversion of fund by the delivery Agent. I have the Combination Keys to open the Cash Consignment. Once you establish contact with the Delivery Agent l will release the Combination keys for opening of the Consignment. Please do not disclose the content of the Consignment to the Delivery agent to avoid diversion of fund on transit. Be careful and don’t discus it with people you don’t trust for security reasons.
I am waiting for your call.
Mr. Joe Roland.
+2348077859277
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