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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:
- "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: "U.S. Government Accountability Office" <sterlingbankplc65@gmail.com>
Reply-To: emailofficial766@gmail.com
Date: Sun, 19 Dec 2021 07:42:23 -0800
Subject: This mail is coming to you from U.S. Government Accountability Office
(U.S. GAO) I am David M. Walker
This mail is coming to you from U.S. Government Accountability Office
(U.S. GAO) I am David M. Walker.
I am writing to inform you about your Bank Cheque Draft brought by the
United Embassy from the government of United Kingdom which contains
the sum of $6,500.000.00 US dollars From Capital One Bank.
The delivery of your funds has been mandated to be deliver to your
address today or tomorrow
Bear in mind that i have taking my time to be in charge of your funds
as instructed by the President of this Country to ensure that you
receive the funds successfully.
The only fee you are to pay is $500
before your Bank Cheque Draft will be deliver to you today, the reason
why the fee is required is to have your funds clearance paper from the
origin of the funds to avoid any harassment on you from the Authority.
Get back to me with your home address and also the payment of $500 for
immediate effect of your delivery. Note that the $500 is the only fee
you are to make nothing more.
According to our agreement with the originated London, all our
communications should be on email for record purpose so follow my
instruction accordingly, If you are able to make this payment
immediately your Bank Cheque Draft will be delivered to your home
address by end of today. This is your life opportunity and i don’t
want you to lose the chance any more.
You are advised to make the payment with the listed cashier
information below as instructed you by the originated Authority. I
will look forward to receive your email today with the payment to
enable the origin secure the required clearance papers. Note that it
will take only 14hrs to deliver your Bank Cheque Draft today.
I look forward to your respond with the payment today.
David M. Walker
U.S. Government Accountability Office (U.S. GAO)
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Anti-fraud resources:
