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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:
- An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
- 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:
- "from the desk of" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "await your urgent response" (scammers rush victims so they don't have time to think properly)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
- This email lists free webmail addresses. Use of such addresses is typical for scams. Lotteries, banks and any but the smallest of companies do not normally use such addresses. Criminals use them to anonymously send and receive email at Internet cafes.
- officef.president@bk.ru (email address has been used in a known fraud before)
Fraud email example:
From: OFFICE <jamesmarswell2@gmail.com>
Reply-To: officef.president@bk.ru
Date: Thu, 31 Mar 2022 14:28:32 +0100
Subject: YOUR URGENT REPLY IS NEEDED THAT IS IF YOU ARE STILL ALIVE
--
FROM THE DESK OF: PRESIDENT KRISTALINA GEORGIEVA
MANAGING DIRECTOR: INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUNDS (IMF).
ATTENTION OF: BENEFICIARY ,
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN, IT WILL INTEREST YOU TO KNOW THAT THE WORLD POWER
ORGANIZATION UNION CONCLUDED THAT ALL ABANDONED PAYMENT FILES SHOULD BE
VERIFIED BY THE INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND (IMF), UNDER THE DESK OF
PRESIDENT (KRISTALINA GEORGIEVA) TO AVOID SCAM OR DELAY. WE CONFIRMED IN
WORLD DATABASE RECORD THE SUM OF $15.5 MILLION U.S DOLLARS APPROVED FUND IN
YOUR NAME, AND WAS UNCLAIMED AND ABANDONED BY YOU FOR A VERY LONG TIME.
YOUR PAST OR PRESENT TRANSACTIONS ARE PLACED ON HOLD HENCEFORTH, AND YOU
ARE ADVISED TO GET BACK TO THIS DEPARTMENT FOR FURTHER DIRECTIVES IF YOU
ARE INTERESTED TO FINALIZE THE CLAIM OF SAID FUND $15.5 MILLION U.S DOLLARS
LEGALLY.
FILL AND SUBMIT REQUESTED DETAILS OF YOURS BELOW:
YOUR NAME......................................
YOUR RESIDENTIAL ADDRESS.......................
YOUR DIRECT PHONE NUMBER.......................
AMOUNT OF FUND APPROVED........................
YOUR NEXT OF KIN...............................
ZIP CODE.......................................
ONE COPIES OF YOUR PASSPORT PHOTOGRAPH.........
AGE/SEX........................................
YOUR OCCUPATION................................
WE SHALL AWAIT YOUR URGENT RESPONSE BEFORE THE END OF TODAY.
YOURS FAITHFULLY,
PRESIDENT KRISTALINA GEORGIEVA
E-MAIL: officef.president@bk.ru
INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUNDS 'IMF
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Anti-fraud resources:
