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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:
- "dear sir/madam" (a standard Nigerian greeting phrase)
- "million united states dollars" (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)
- "abuja" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
- "cntlbng@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.
- 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: "PROF. SANUSI LAMIDO SANUSI" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <cntlbng@w.cn>
Date: Thu, 3 Mar 2011 17:10:03 -0800
Subject: DEAR SIR/MADAM!
DEAR SIR/MADAM!
THIS IS TO OFFICIALLY INFORM YOU THAT WE HAVE VERIFIED YOUR INHERITANCE FILE AND FOUND OUT THAT WHY YOU HAVE NOT RECEIVED YOUR PAYMENT IS BECAUSE YOU HAVE NOT FULFILLED THE OBLIGATIONS GIVEN TO YOU IN RESPECT OF YOUR CONTRACT/ INHERITANCE PAYMENT.
AFTER THE BOARD OF DIRECTOR'S MEETING HELD IN ABUJA, WITH PRESIDENT.GOODLUCK JONATHAN(GCFR),YOUR NAME COMES UP AS ONE OFTHE BENEFICIARY OF THE CONTACT /INHERITANCE THAT ARE YET TO RECEIVED THERE FUND. THIS OFFICE HAS BEEN MANDATED TO ISSUE OUT ATMCARD VALUED OF SIX MILLION UNITED STATES DOLLARS, AS INITIAL PAYMENT FOR THIS FISCAL YEAR 2011.
NOTE: BECAUSE OF IMPOSTORS, WE HEREBY ISSUE YOU OUR CODE OF CONDUCT, WHICH IS (ATM-GIG) SO YOU HAVE TO INDICATE THIS CODE WHEN CONTACTING OUR BANK OFFICE BY USING IT AS YOUR SUBJECT.
YOUR FULL NAME
PHONE AND FAX NUMBER
ADDRESS WHERE YOU WOULD LIKE TO RECEIVE THE ATM CARD.
YOUR AGE AND CURRENT OCCUPATION
YOUR COPY OF YOUR INT'L PASSPORT/DRIVERS LICENSE.
FINALLY, PLEASE CONTACT OUR CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA (CBN) DIRECTOR HERE.
PROF. SANUSI LAMIDO SANUSI
CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA
TEL: +2348081365609.
EMAIL: cntlbng@w.cn
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Anti-fraud resources:
