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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:
- "dear beneficiary," (this SPAM email was probably sent to thousands of people)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
- 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.
- mrraphaelbostic@gmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)
- immediately through his private email address at (mrraphaelbostic@gmail.com) re-confirming your details as requested below: full name: (Gmail; can be used from anywhere worldwide)
Fraud email example:
From: "FEDERAL RESERVE BANK" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <mrraphaelbostic@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 6 Apr 2021 11:19:20 +0100
Subject: Funds transfer notice
Dear Beneficiary,
It has come to the notice of the Board of Trustees of the Federal Reserve Bank that you have still not received your inheritance claim of $10.5 Million due to some irregularities. To this effect, it has become necessary for the Board of Trustees to assign trained Fund Transfer Specialists from the United States to resolve and regularize your fund release with immediate effect.
We have been fully informed about how the staffs of the remitting bank has been taking advantage of you by telling you to pay unnecessarily exorbitant charges. Due to this development, we have been assigned a Fund Transfer Specialists to step in to enable you receive your funds within the shortest possible time.
To implement this, you are to get back to Dr. Raphael W. Bostic of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta immediately through his private email address at (mrraphaelbostic@gmail.com) re-confirming your details as requested below:
FULL NAME:
ADDRESS:
PHONE NUMBERS:
DATE OF BIRTH:
OCCUPATION:
All processes to have your funds paid to you immediately through the FRB Liaison Remittance Office in Atlanta have been initiated to cut out unnecessary costs.
We shall await your immediate correspondence with the information requested above to his private email address at (raphaelbostic@accountant.com) for fast re-confirmation so that he may conclude your payment immediately.
Yours Sincerely,
Jerome Powell
Chair of the Federal Reserve
Federal Reserve Bank of NewYork
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Anti-fraud resources:
