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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:
- "tax clearance" (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. )
- "hundred thousand 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)
- ",500,000" (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)
- "00,000.00" (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)
- "power of attorney" (with your bank details and a power of attorney form criminals sometimes empty bank accounts)
- "barrister" (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
- "tax clearance" (Tax offices mentioned in 419 scams are always fake. Even after you pay their fake tax demands you will still not receive the non-existent funds you have been promised. )
- This email message is a next of kin scam.
- Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.
Fraud email example:
From: "James Santos" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <santosejames2019@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 20 Feb 2022 01:28:29 -0800
Subject: URGENT REPLY
Hello,
I am Barrister James Santos the Funds Transfer Unit Central Credit Union, I want to let you know that we received another email right now from a young woman called Mrs. Marston Dale telling us that you died of coronavirus last week and before your death in the hospital you gave her the power of attorney to claim your inheritance fund worth the sum of U$10,500,000.00 (Ten Million Five Hundred Thousand United States Dollars) in our bank and she agreed to pay the Tax Clearance charge for us to hand over the fund to her, we need a confirmation from you as soon as you receive my message before we give her the access to your fund but if we don't hear from you in the next three working days, then we are going to take the action by handing over the fund to her. Remember to confirm your Full information to us for mutual understanding:
Your Name____________
Address: ________
Occupation: ____
Phone Number: _____
Age & Sex_________
Marital Status______
Copy of your picture_______
Best wishes
Barrister James E. Santos
Funds Transfer Unit
Central Credit Union
+1(917) 310-2307
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Anti-fraud resources:
