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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:

Fraud email example:

From: "UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <michaelkingston@mail.ee>
Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2022 10:32:10 -0800
Subject: YOUR PAYMENT APPROVAL

DEAR BENEFICIARY,
 
THIS IS TO OFFICIALLY INFORM YOU THAT WE HAVE VERIFIED YOUR INHERITANCE FILE AND FOUND OUT WHY YOU HAVE NOT RECEIVED YOUR PAYMENT,IS BECAUSE YOU HAVE NOT FULFILLED THE
 
OBLIGATIONS GIVEN TO YOU IN RESPECT TO YOUR CONTRACT/INHERITANCE PAYMENT.
 
SECONDLY WE HAVE BEEN INFORMED THAT YOU ARE STILL DEALING WITH THE NONE OFFICIALS IN THE BANK IN YOUR ENTIRE ATTEMPT TO SECURE THE RELEASE OF THE FUND TO YOU. WE WISH TO ADVISE
 
YOU THAT SUCH AN ILLEGAL ACT LIKE THAT HAVE TO STOP IF YOU WISH TO RECEIVE YOUR PAYMENT SINCE WE HAVE DECIDED TO BRING A SOLUTION TO YOUR PROBLEM. RIGHT NOW WE HAVE ARRANGED
 
YOUR PAYMENT THROUGH OUR SWIFT CARD PAYMENT CENTER ASIA PACIFIC THAT IS THE LATEST INSTRUCTION FROM MR. PRESIDENT, MOHAMMADU BUHARI(CFR) , PRESIDENT AND COMMANDER IN CHIEF OF 
 
FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA.
 
THIS CARD CENTER WILL SEND YOU AN ATM CARD WHICH YOU WILL USE TO WITHDRAW YOUR MONEY IN ANY ATM MACHINE IN ANY PART OF THE WORLD, BUT THE MAXIMUM IS FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS PER
 
DAY, SO IF YOU LIKE TO RECEIVE YOUR FUND THIS WAY PLEASE LET US KNOW BY CONTACTING US WITH THE INFORMATION AS STATED BELOW.
 
 
1. YOUR FULL NAME
2. PHONE AND FAX NUMBER
3. ADDRESS WERE YOU WANT THEM TO SEND THE ATM CARD
4. YOUR AGE AND CURRENT OCCUPATION.
5.SCAN YOUR PASSPORT I.D
6.YOUR FULL HOME ADDRESS.
 
THE ATM CARD PAYMENT CENTER HAS BEEN MANDATED TO ISSUE OUT USD 6.8MILLION AS PART PAYMENT FOR THIS FISCAL YEAR 2021, FOR YOUR INFORMATION, YOU HAVE TO STOP ANY FURTHER
 
COMMUNICATION WITH ANY OTHER PERSON(S) OR OFFICE(S) TO AVOID ANY HITCHES IN RECEIVING YOUR PAYMENT. EMAIL ME BACK AS SOON AS YOU RECEIVE THIS IMPORTANT MESSAGE FOR FURTHER
 
DIRECTION. NOTE THAT BECAUSE OF IMPOSTORS, WE HEREBY ISSUED YOU OUR CODE OF CONDUCT, WHICH IS (ATM-822) SO YOU HAVE TO INDICATE THIS CODE WHEN RESPONDING TO THIS MESSAGE.
KINDEST REGARDS,
 
MICHAEL KINGSTON,
UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA,
LAGOS NIGERIA

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