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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: "Arnard Trao" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <qau2014@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 15 Mar 2012 20:33:03 -0000
Subject: TELEX DEPARTMENT UNIT ECO BANK OUAGADOUGOU
DEAR CUSTOMER
I AM WRITING TO INFORM YOU THAT YOUR FILE WAS FOUND IN OUR OFFICE TODAY AND WE DISCOVERED THAT YOUR FUND $950,000.00USD HAVE NOT BEEN SENT TO YOU, NOTE THAT YOUR PAYMENT HAS BEEN CONVERT INTO MASTER ATM CARD TO FREE IT FROM EXPIRING. THIS IS TO TELL YOU THAT THE ARRANGEMENT TO DELIVER TO YOU THE $950,000.00 IN ATM CARD IS CONCLUDED TODAY AND THE ONLY FEE WHICH YOU WILL HAVE TO PAY IS THE DELIVERY FEE.
NOW YOUR ATM CARD IS WELL PACKAGED WITH EVERY LEGAL DOCUMENT TO COVER IT FORM NOT HAVING ANY PROBLEM WITH ANY OFFICE AUTHORITY OR WITH YOUR FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND WE HAVE DEPOSIT YOUR ATM CARD WITH THE CONCLUSION TO DELIVER IT TO YOUR HOME AS SOON AS YOU CONFIRM THE RECEIPT OF THIS MAIL.I WILL GUIDE YOU ON HOW TO MAKE WITHDRAWAL DAILY.CONTACT US AT THIS VERY EMAIL: (ECO-000@BLUMAIL.ORG)
YOU ARE WELCOME TO MY SERVICE.
MR ARNARD TRAO
NEW MANAGER TELEX DEPARTMENT UNIT
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Anti-fraud resources:
