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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:
- "clearance document" (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. )
- 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.
- commercialban@aol.com (AOL; can be used from anywhere worldwide)
Fraud email example:
From: The Commercial Bank of New York <sgbbuk12@gmail.com>
Reply-To: fctukdept@gmail.com
Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2021 08:44:52 +0100
Subject: TRANSACTION
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The Commercial Bank of New York
Head Office
ADDRESS:320 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10022 United States
Tel: +1 (203) 774 3731
E-mail: info@tcommusa.com
Alternative E-mail: commercialban@aol.com
Mobil WhatsAPP +1 (631)346-0723
Ref: US$7.5 Million Payment Approval.
Dear Sir.
In view of our previous email ,we mentioned that you should forward to
us your Banking information where we shall transfer your overdue
payment of $7.5 Million Into with the transfer processing vat fee of
$75 only which we shall use to obtain the fund transfer clearance
documents that will back up the fund when we transfer it to your
account to avoid any question from the international monetary
organization.Kindly get back to us with the two above requirement to
enable us transfer your fund .
Yours Faithfully.
Signed
Dr/Mrs.Albina Abbey James
(Branch Manager)
Mobil WhatsAPP +1 (631)346-0723
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Anti-fraud resources:
