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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:
- "courier company" (Courier companies mentioned in 419 scams are always fake. They will have you send money to them, but won't deliver anything. )
- "lagos" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
- "atmdepartmentskybankplc@skymail.mn" (this email address looks like addresses used in "ATM SWIFT card" 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: "SKYBANK ATM" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <atmdepartmentskybankplc@skymail.mn>
Date: Sun, 5 Feb 2012 12:36:05 -0800
Subject: Your ATM CARD is ready for delivery now! Sorry for delay. Awaiting your response.
SKY BANK ATM DEPARTMENT:
PLOT 605 AWOLOWO ROAD IKEJA
LAGOS, NIGERIA.
CONTACT EMAIL: atmdepartmentskybankplc@skymail.mn
TEL: +234-8060100760
Hello Sir,
We are very sorry for the delay. Your ATM CARD, Valued US$1.216Million has been activated and is ready for delivery, Meanwhile the delivery fee $185 is needed for DHL Courier to deliver your package to your home address. Also note that $5000-$10,000 is permitted daily for each cash withdraw from every ATM MACHINE Outlets
Therefore do not delay to respond immediately and quickly send us the below information.
Full Names
Receiving address
Telephone number
Zip Code.
Get back to us for your Payment so that we can register the CARD for delivery with DHL Courier Company. The Parcel Tracking Number will be provided to you after the registration is done for easy picking and tracking of parcel online before the arrival to your country.
Once again we are sorry for the delay.
Reply urgently for Card delivery.
Thanks for your understanding .
Rev. Chris Pam
ATM DEPARTMENT
SKY BANK PLC
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Anti-fraud resources:
