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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)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Ministry of Foreign Affairs" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <wire@365trade.net>
Date: Fri, 31 Aug 2012 01:07:24 +0100
Subject: Nigerian Scams
Important information about Nigerian scams:
The preponderance of Advance Fee Fraud (419) has had severe negative consequences on Nigeria, including decreased Foreign Direct Investments in the country and tainting of Nigeria's national image. The menace of these crimes and the recognition of the magnitude and gravity of the situation led to an emergency meeting between the President, the Vice-president and other members of the Federal Executive Council. It was concluded that all fees and charges sent to Nigeria by scam victims will be sent back to every victim.
The Federal Government of Nigeria with support from First Bank Nigeria Plc have issued out some MasterCard Credit Cards activated and loaded with twenty thousand US dollars each in favor of every verified and confirmed scam victim.
The MasterCard Credit Card will be delivered to the doorstep of every victim by DHL International Courier Company, the Federal Government of Nigeria have ordered DHL to use Cash On Delivery (C.O.D) service which means the victim will pay the delivery charge to the DHL delivery agent after delivery. The MasterCard credit card is originally sealed with a silver polythene to protect the CVV number.
If you have sent fees or charges of any kind to fraudsters in Nigeria, forward your NAME and ADDRESS to our compensation and benefits managers (365-Trade Compensation and Benefits Managers Lagos, Nigeria) through their email address stated below for verification.
Forward your name and address to: wire@365trade.net
This Message Is From;
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Federal Republic of Nigeria
Website: http://www.mfa.gov.ng
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Anti-fraud resources:
