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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:
- "million 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)
- "abuja" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: POST OFFICE <sulemanibrahimamaryawa2020@gmail.com>
Reply-To: postoffice107@gmail.com
Date: Thu, 9 Dec 2021 12:29:13 +0100
Subject: POST OFFICE
MUBARAK MUSE GUNAR HOUSE
PLOT 1279 MUHAMMAD BUKHARIN WAY
PMB 12537, GARIK 900001
ABUJA, NIGERIA
ATTENTION : BENEFICIARY
THIS IS POST OFFICE DELIVERY COMPANY OF NIGERIA, THE MANAGEMENT OF
THIS COMPANY WISHES TO INFORM YOU THAT WE RECEIVED A PARCEL CONTAINING
AN ATM MASTER CARD VALUED $10.5MILLION UNITED STATES DOLLARS WITH SOME
VITAL DOCUMENTS ATTACHED TO IT FOR SAFETY DELIVERY TO YOUR RESIDENTIAL
ADDRESS IN YOUR COUNTRY.
THIS IS PAYMENT OFFICE AND I AM DIRECTED TO INFORM YOU THAT YOUR
PAYMENT VERIFICATION AND CONFIRMATIONS IS OK.YOUR ATM CARD NUMBERS IS:
9098120122210038.
THIS PARCEL WAS BROUGHT TO US THIS MORNING BY UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA
(UBA) WITH SOME INSTRUCTION FROM UNITED NATION (UN) AND INTERNATIONAL
MONETARY FUND(IMF) WITH THE BELOW INFORMATION. PLEASE RECONFIRM THE
BELOW INFORMATION TO AVOID DELIVERING YOUR ATM MASTER CARD TO A WRONG
HAND.
FULL NAMES......
PARCEL OWNER ADDRESS....
TEL....
WE WILL REGISTER YOUR PACKAGE AND SEND YOU THE TRACKING NUMBERS BEFORE
WE PROCEED FOR SAFETY DELIVERY OF YOUR PACKAGE AS SOON AS YOU
RECONFIRM THE REQUIRED INFORMATION FOR SAFETY DELIVERY.
POST OFFICE IS ONE OF THE WORLD'S GREAT SUCCESS STORIES, THE START-UP
THAT REVOLUTIONIZED THE DELIVERY OF PACKAGES AND INFORMATION IN THE
PAST 30 YEARS. WE HAVE GROWN UP AND GROWN INTO A DIVERSE FAMILY OF
POST OFFICE THAT'S BIGGER, STRONGER AND BETTER THAN EVER.
WAITING TO READ YOUR E-MAIL.
YOURS AFFECTIONATELY.
MR CHRIS OBI
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Anti-fraud resources:
