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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:
- "insurance fee " (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. )
- "lagos" (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: Ekel Franklyn <generalusattorney11@gmail.com>
Reply-To: ekelfranklyn@gmail.com
Date: Mon, 27 Dec 2021 09:07:47 +0100
Subject: RE
FedEx Re Star Express
70 International Airport Road Mafoluku
Lagos Nigeria
Greetings,
Your ATM Card From United Bank for Africa (UBA) was brought to us
which is ready to be shipped and below is the tracking details
http://www.fedex.com/tracking Your Tracking Number: 800277347645
All you have to do is that You have to send $120 for Delivery and
Insurance fee and your ATM Card will delivered to you within 24 hours.
And i want to make it known to you that after you send this $120
charges there will be a smooth delivery and there won't be any extra
charges because everything will has to with the delivery has been
taken care of just only this $120 charges is what that is required of
you.
You are hereby advise to send the charges of the $120 for cost of the
shipping fee through Ria Money Transfer with this info below
Receiver's Name : Ekel Franklyn
Receiver's Address: Lagos Nigeria
Waiting to hear from you ASAP. Contacted :
Regards
Ekel Franklyn
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Anti-fraud resources:
