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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:
- An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
- 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:
- "western union" (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. )
- "mtcn" (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. )
- "central bank of nigeria" (the name of a person or institution often appearing in 419 scams)
- "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.
- Western Union money transfer is completely untraceable and therefore is *not* safe to use with anyone you do not know personally. It is the preferred method of online criminals to collect money from their victims.
- This email lists free webmail addresses. Use of such addresses is typical for scams. Lotteries, banks and any but the smallest of companies do not normally use such addresses. Criminals use them to anonymously send and receive email at Internet cafes.
- cb_n20@yahoo.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)
Fraud email example:
From: "Central bank of Nigeria" <cbn@vodokanal.poltava.ua>
Reply-To: cb_n20@yahoo.com
Date: Thu, 20 Jun 2019 17:30:53 +0300
Subject: Urgent Attention Needed
CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA
OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
TINUBU SQUARE,LAGOS-NIGERIA.
Dear Beneficiary
If it is because of $125 fees that you are abandoning your fund here,
please go and send $50. This bank will help you raise the balance of the
fees. The Government of Nigeria are after unpaid fund and they demanded
that we return it back to them. I am also telling you that your fund must
be in your account or by atm card once we confirm this fees now. What i
said is send $50. Failure to send it now, you are loosing your fund. Your
fund will be transferred to Government Account. What i need from you is
$50 now.
If you can not use western union then buy iTunes card and send. No more
fees after this fees
Receiver name:Peter Musa
City: Lagos
Country:Nigeria
Question:Very
Answer:Urgent
Amt:$125
I need the MTCN number urgently with the name of the sender and address
after the payment
Godwin Emefiele
Governor
Central bank of Nigeria
Email:cb_n20@yahoo.com
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Anti-fraud resources:
