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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:
- The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "account opening" (this will cost you money - be careful with upfront payments to anyone you only know through email, especially if they promise you a lot of money. NEVER send money by Western Union or MoneyGram to people you do not know personally - NO EXCEPTIONS! Instant wire transfer services are not meant to be used with strangers because they offer no protection against fraud. That is precisely why the criminals want you send money that way. )
- "account opening form" (Banks mentioned in 419 scams are always fake (real banks don't communicate using mobile phones or free webmail addresses))
- "offshore account" (Banks mentioned in 419 scams are always fake (real banks don't communicate using mobile phones or free webmail addresses))
- "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: Stella M Aforlabi <stellamarisfidelity@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 7 Aug 2017 14:12:30 +0100
Subject: REPLY NOW
Fidelity Bank Plc Nig
No2.Kofi Abayomi Str,Victoria Island Lagos Nigeria
Dear Sir,
I wish to inform you that the Presidency under the office of Finance and
Appropriation Committee has approved to pay some foreign
contractors/Inheritance fund owed by the government of Nigeria. Therefore
the committee has empowered Fidelity Bank Plc to pay the listed
beneficiaries which your name was among. The new government apologized for
the delay from the past government and promised to release their funds on
time leg prior to maximum compliance to this message. However, upon your
acknowledgement to this mail, I shall send you Account opening forms which
you will fill and return back to me. We shall set up an account on your
name right here in our bank and lodged in the total approved fund $5.5M
into the new account before final transfer to your local bank in your
country. This offshore account opening method is to avoid taxes and other
unnecessary fees. Finally, you are hereby advised to give us maximum
co-operation so that you will receive your fund before the end of next
week. Please confirm the receipt of this message to enable us facilitate
action.
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Regards,
Mrs. Stella Maris
(Fidelity Bank Plc)
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Anti-fraud resources:
