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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: "ALBERT STEWARD" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <inboxonovo@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 30 Aug 2019 20:22:30 +0100
Subject: IRS
Sir/Mam,
This is to inform you that the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Federal Government of Nigeria reached an Agreement to combat the cyber-crime wave by issue an ALL IN ONE Document which will stand-in as guarantor or surety throughout your transaction with Federal Government of Nigeria. Because of the recent FBI report and arrest of some Nigerian fraudsters, an agreement was reached to prevent any further scam or internet fraud in America or anywhere in World by Nigerians.
This WAIVER DOCUMENT covers all method of payment or upfront payment, NO advance payment until your fund is in your account. You are expected to receive your due fund within 5 working days and if the Federal Government of Nigeria fails to your fund within the given days do not hesitate to contact us.
You are ONLY required to obtain a WAIVER FORM with (US$257.83 ONLY) which will the Legal Department will process and submit to the government authorities for endorsement.
If this meets your desire our Legal Department will contact you for further guideline as soon as you are able to reply.
Truly,
Albert Steward
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Anti-fraud resources:
