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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.
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Mr. Godwin Emefiele" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <godwinemefiele@fundisrael.org>
Date: Sun, 4 Mar 2012 09:22:00 -0500
Subject: Dear Beneficiary: Reply Now to Claim your Payment
I am Mr. Godwin Emefiele , the new appointed Chairman in charge of all foreign dept. After several meeting from the Board of Trustees and the Federal Ministry of Finance and Federal Ministry of Internal Revenue, I came across your abandon payment file resting on my desk as abandoned file without transfer
In respect with the provision act of decree 114 of the 1999 constitution; I am directed to inform you that your payment verification and confirmations is correct. Therefore, we are happy to inform you that arrangements have been concluded to effect your payment as soon as possible and in our bid to transparency.
This decision was taken by the Federal Ministry of Finance and Federal Ministry of internal revenue,and an order has been given to all beneficiary to setup a new account where their funds will be transfer effectively into beneficiary’s new account rather than BANK TO BANK transfer your funds will be affected into your new account from our authorized paying bank, {ZENITH BANK OF NIGERIA PLC} through ATM CARD
Kindly furnish me with below information:
Your Full Name:…………………………………..Address: ………………………….
Telephone:………………..………Cell:………..………….…Fax……….………….…
Also attach one or two pages of your International Passport or Divers License or any form of Identity.please be informed that delivery will be made to your address in 48 hours (2 days)
Get back to me IMMEDIATELY.
Yours Faithfully,
Mr. Godwin Emefiele
Dept. Management
Zenith Bank of Nigeria Plc
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Anti-fraud resources:
