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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:
- "dear sir/madam" (a standard Nigerian greeting phrase)
- "claims office" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
- "hundred thousand united states dollars" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
- "00,000.00" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
- "cheque " (Beware of any scheme that involves cashing checks or money orders and then wiring a portion of the funds somewhere - you'll be liable for the entire amount if the checks or money orders turn out to be fake, even after you have received and forwarded cash. If it's a lottery prize, remember that real lotteries do not pay large prizes by check. They wire the money directly to your bank account and you do not pay for that. Many scammers promise a large check only in order to then demand payment of courier fees for a fake courier service. )
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Dr Kristalina Georgieva" (may be fake)
Date: Mon, 11 May 2020 05:41:59 -0700
Subject: COVID-19 RELIEF DONATION FUNDS!!
Dear Sir/Madam,
This is to notify you that you have been chosen by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in-conjunction with the World Health Organization (W.H.O) UN EU World bank Organization (W.B.O) as Quarantine funds donation to help and fight against the Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19). The World Health Organization (W.H.O) / World Bank Organization (W.B.O) release out a total of $800 Billion dollars to spread around the world. You have been granted with the sum of $500,000.00 USD (Five Hundred Thousand United States Dollars).
You are advised to contact the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Funds Claims Office as soon as possible at the email below, failure to do so might result to funds been returned unclaimed.Send your full name with the following Donation code to the below Email.infooffice543@daum.net Donation code: W.H.O #00291/covid-19/54
As soon as our claims office receive your donation code and your details, they shall forward it to one of the paying bank because this is not a good time to mail cheque for security reason, wire transfer will serve better. We have appointed several banks around the world for this purpose and time.
Thank you for your understanding.
COVID-19 Is real stay safe!
Best Regards,
Dr Kristalina Georgieva
Managing Director International Monetary Fund
(IMF) Washington DC
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Anti-fraud resources:
