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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:

Fraud email example:

From: "Ecobank Nigeria Plc" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <ecobnkplc@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, 12 Oct 2013 21:46:24 +0100
Subject: RE: APPROVAL OF YOUR PAYMENT

ECOBANK NIGERIA PLC
Foreign Remittance Dept.
Plot 21, Ahmadu Bello Way
Victoria Island, Lagos,
Nigeria, West Africa
Tel:  +234-1-891-5774
Fax: +234-1-227-0374
 
TELEX: 5170
SWIFT CODE (BIC): ECOCNGLA
ISIN CODE: NGECOBANK000
BATCH NO.: FGN/093002-13
 
REF: FGN/LOS/EBP-PT/0094/13
 
Attention: Beneficiary
 
RE: APPROVAL OF YOUR PAYMENT
 
It might interest you to know that while you are yet to receive your payment, we at the Foreign Remittance Department, Ecobank have registered your payment as resolved and claimed by you.  This was fulfilled on the account of the information receive from the Central Bank of Nigeria, but contrary to our disposition, we only yesterday received a counter information from the Ministry of Finance positioning that you have not been paid off.
 
Paragraph two of the rejoinder from the Finance Ministry indicated that you have been placed on the chess-board of corrupt officials whose trade in stock is for disseminate sensitive payment information to their cronies and allies to distort and disenfranchise your genuine claim for payment by giving the toga of improper and phony claim via their nefarious activity.
 
On the account of this revelation from the ministry of finance, the Foreign Remittance Department, Ecobank Nigeria Plc has invoked the powers conferred on us as the leading independent pan-African bank by articles 39 Section 11A and 23C Cap 69, laws of the Economic Community of West African States and Federal Republic of Nigeria, to recall this payment, investigate reasons in favor or against the implementation of payment.
 
This we have assiduously concluded and we discovered that for a longtime now you have been a scam victim. We advice that, you dishonor any form of correspondence in respect of your payment to enable us resolve this impasse. It is obvious that your payment file has been retrieved. Since it is an obligation to rectify, resolve and settle such debts through this office to save the battered image of our dear country and African continent, we have resolved to deal directly with you only for a debt-buy-back payment settlement.
 
In respect of this, we demand that you send to this office any viable information at your disposal that will confirm you as the true beneficiary in less than five working days; we sincerely regret this uncharitable display of Man’s inhumanity to his fellow mankind. However, you are required to re-confirm to us the below details for Payment Database Update for proper accreditation and to avoid improper payment to wrong beneficiary.
 
Your Full Name: …..
Your Current Contact Address: …..
Your Mobile number: ……, Office No.: ……., Fax No.: ……
Your Occupation: ……..
Your Means of Identification: ….
 
Yours in service,
 
Mr. Jibril Aku
Managing Director
Foreign Operations Department

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