joewein.net   joewein.de LLC
fighting spam and scams on the Internet
Try our spam filter!
 Free trial for 30 days
   jwSpamSpy
Home
About Us
Spam
419/Nigeria
Fraud
Contact

"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: "Robert C. Rayburn Payment Officer" <woodforestbankforestbankusa@gmail.com>
Date:
Subject:

International Monetary Fund,
1900 Pennsylvania Ave NW,
Washington, DC, USA

Dear Sir/Madam,

YOUR $2,500,000 COMPENSATION HAS BEEN APPROVED!!!

This is to inform you that your delayed Inheritance funds/Contract
payment sum of USD $2,500,000 have been approved as compensation. On
behalf of the IMF headquarters and the treasury department, your funds
will be paid into your nominated bank unconditionally. You're
therefore required to urgently furnish us with your bank requisites by
making available to us the following information's as listed below:

(A) Your full names
(B) Contact Address:
(C) Mobile telephone:
(D) Nationality
(E) Your Email:
(F) Age/Gender:
(G) Occupation and Position:
(H) A scan of your International Passport or Driving License for proof
of beneficiary.

The above details must be completed without omission to avoid
disqualification from getting paid, all details must be sent to us via
email redacted@domain.name)
Once again congratulations and have a blessed day

Yours Sincerely,
Robert C. Rayburn
Payment Officer

Anti-fraud resources: