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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:
- "cost of transfer" (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. )
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: Peter Simon <lrodkin041@gmail.com>
Reply-To: directcompensationoffice@gmail.com
Date: Mon, 8 Aug 2022 14:39:44 +0100
Subject: Re:Sir/Ma
APPROVED $11.8M ATM MASTER CARD WILL BE SEND TO YOU
After our meeting few days ago with African Union, European Union,United
Nation, World bank and the Federal Executive council,it was Resolved and
Agreed upon that our bank (Banco De Oro Unibank OF PHILIPPINES) should go
ahead and transfer the sum of $11.8M in your name
I want to let you know that the cost of transferring your fund is free but
the only charges required from you is the sum of $105 for {(INTERNATIONAL
CLEARANCE SECURITY TRANSFER PERMIT) that will enable me US TO transfer
your fund valued {$11.8m usd} INTO YOUR ACCOUNT WITHOUT DELAY RECONFIRM TO
US THE FOLLOWING DETAILS
1, FULL NAME ...........
2. ADDRESS.............
3. PHONE NUMBER.........
4. OCCUPATION...........
AS SOON AS I CONFIRM YOUR DETAILS I WILL ADVISE YOU ON HOW YOU SEND THE FEE
WAITING
SIMON PETERS
PAYMENT DIRECTOR UNION
BDO BANK OF PHILIPPINES
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Anti-fraud resources:
