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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. )
- "certified bank draft" (Beware of any scheme that involves cashing checks or money orders and then wiring a portion of the funds somewhere - you'll be liable for the entire amount if the checks or money orders turn out to be fake, even after you have received and forwarded cash. If it's a lottery prize, remember that real lotteries do not pay large prizes by check. They wire the money directly to your bank account and you do not pay for that. Many scammers promise a large check only in order to then demand payment of courier fees for a fake courier service. )
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "NIGERIA AND BRITISH JOINT COMMISSION" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <anmendozza@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 26 Sep 2012 15:23:10 -0500
Subject: NIGERIA AND BRITISH JOINT COMMISSION
NIGERIA AND BRITISH JOINT COMMISSION
(TRADE/INVESTMENT AND DEBT MANAGEMENT SECTION)
The British High Commission in sub-Sahara Africa received a report of scam against you and other British, US and some Asian citizens. The government of Nigeria and the British High commission after diplomatic overtures has agreed to recompense you. Your name was among those scam victims as listed by the Nigeria Financial Intelligent Unit (NFIU). A re-compensation has been issued out VIA INTERNATIONAL CERTIFIED BANK DRAFT to all victims and has already been in distribution to all victims. Your BANK DRAFT will be processed and delivered to you and we wish to advise you to see to the instructions of the committee to make sure you receive your BANK DRAFT immediately.
The Nigeria Financial Intelligent Unit have made a concrete arrangement with the FedEx Courier Company for a safe delivery to your home address once the beneficiary meet up with the requirements of the conveyor. We advise that you do the needful things to make sure the NFIU dispatches your compensation as soon as possible.
Yours truly,
Antonio Mendoza
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Anti-fraud resources:
