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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: "World Bank Group" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <worldbankgroup231@qq.com>
Date: Wed, 17 Sep 2014 08:09:29 +0200
Subject: Urgent Payment Approval
WORLD BANK/UNITED NATIONS {UN}
AFRICA UNION {AU} AND
OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENCIES.
Attention: Beneficiary,
I hope that this correspondence is received with the urgency and the expediency required.
Take Note: Your e-mail address came up in a random draw conducted in our office. You are being contacted because you names and email contact is listed as one of the beneficiaries to receive scam victims compensation of $7.5M.only.For your information also after our crucial meeting today with all the relevant authorities,Heads of government,The United Nations,The World Bank Group and African Union{AU}. We write to inform you that your payment valued at US$7.5M has been approved for immediate release to you through our Foreign Credit Commission into your account.
Our Foreign Credit Commission will release your payment to you within the next 72hours of your accreditation. Now you are advised to get back to us immediately with your {1} Your Full Names........{2}Telephone Number....{3}contact address...{4}occupation...{5}Age...for further briefing and immediate release of your fund to your account.
Hope to hear from you soon.
Yours Faithfully,
Mr. Paul Douglas
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Anti-fraud resources:
