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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:
- "the required fees" (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. )
- "fund beneficiary" (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)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Mrs.Grace Johnson" <file23546@gmail.com>
Reply-To: mrsgj46@gmail.com
Date: Thu, 23 Mar 2023 18:58:41 +0100
Subject: Attention Fund Beneficiary
--
Attention Fund Beneficiary
This is official message from the Federal Ministry Of
Finance Benin Republic that your fund payment of $3.7 is over delay
and you have to try as much as you can to resolve and send the
required Fees to enable us complete with your fund payment. go ahead
and send the $50 TO ENABLE US COMPLETE WITH YOUR FUND PAYMENT. WE ARE
GIVING YOU A 100% GUARANTEE TO RECEIVE YOUR PAYMENT WITHIN THE NEXT
48HOURS.
SEND YOUR INFORMATION TO ENABLE US TO TRANSFER THE FUNDS INTO YOUR
BANK ACCOUNT WITHOUT ANY
HESITATION. SO THAT WE CAN GET THIS TRANSACTION DONE AS URGENTLY AS POSSIBLE.
FULL NAMES:
COUNTRY:
DIRECT NUMBER:
BANK NAME:
BANK ADDRESS:
BANK ACCOUNT NUMBER:
SWIFT CODE:
COPY OF YOUR ANY VALID ID CARD
YOURS SINCERELY
MRS.GRACE JOHNSON
DIRECTOR FEDERAL MINISTRY OF
FINANCE BENIN REPUBLIC
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Anti-fraud resources:
