joewein.net   joewein.de LLC
fighting spam and scams on the Internet
Try our spam filter!
 Free trial for 30 days
   jwSpamSpy
Home
About Us
Spam
419/Nigeria
Fraud
Contact

"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: NATWEST ALERT <test@test.com>
Date: Mon, 18 Sep 2017 18:44:36 +0100
Subject: Important

Dear Customer,

NatWest Bank protects your card and information against unauthorised use online at no cost.

You are receiving this email because we noticed an attempt to log in into your online banking account from an unrecognised device. Our system has blocked this log in attempt as a security measure.

We have been trying to contact you regarding this action to confirm if this is genuine. However, we are unable to reach you. Our system has temporarily restricted your account access & ATM Debit Card as a security measure.

To safeguard your account access and to ensure that your service is not interrupted, we request you to confirm and validate your information immediately using the login reference giving below.

Login

Yours sincerely,

NatWest Online and mobile banking team

Fraudsters may claim to be the bank to try and access security information. If you receive a call or email from NatWest that you are suspicious about, cease the call immediately,

National Westminster Bank Plc, Registered in England and Wales No. 929027. Registered Office: 135 Bishopsgate, London, EC2M 3UR.

Authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. Our Financial Services Register number is 121878.

Anti-fraud resources: