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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.
- 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.
Fraud email example:
From: "Ms Lauren" <luren.sullivan@citromail.hu>
Reply-To: luren.sullivan@yahoo.com
Date: Mon, 16 Aug 2021 22:17:35 +0300
Subject: Re: FCA/BC/GHX/72/055/01 (Your Payment)
Dear Beneficiary,
Have you lost money in the past while trying to receive your payment? The African Development bank has the mandate to coordinate the debt relief program by paying a compensation of 10M from files of unpaid foreign beneficiaries and inheritance claims. Do accept this compensation with full assurance of payment of your full sum in due course.
I therefore request that you participate in this payment exercise with us and also give us the benefit of trust to enable us serve you better. It would be necessary to register your complaint here to guide us in our focus to resolving such issues and avoid repetition in future.
1. What problems have you encountered so far?
2. Have you received any part of your fund in your account before now?
3. Kindly give an estimate of amount you have paid as upfront fees?
4. What total amount are you expecting to receive as your payment?
INFORMATION: To enable you participate in this payment exercise, kindly reply to get your name logged in for approval. Payment of your fund will be handled by our Apex Banker to avoid any of the past impunity carried out by other agencies and payment institutions.
Sincerely yours,
Mrs. Sullivan Lauren
Director, Debt Reconciliation
AFDB
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Anti-fraud resources:
