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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.
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "imfpay@consultant.com" <bernardlauwers2013@gmail.com>
Reply-To: imfpay@consultant.com
Date: Tue, 28 Mar 2023 09:49:37 +0100
Subject: Attention:Beneficiary.
Jeff Frank,
Executive Director
(IMF) Int'l Fund Management Office.
Attention:Beneficiary.
This is to notify you that the United Nations(UN) International
Monetary Fund (IMF) have after their last meeting on 04/01/2023 retrieved
all your funds been held in African banks,Europe,Asia and USA to the tune
of $32.5M.Your fund has been credited on a GLOBAL ATM MASTER CARD by
WorldBank and sent to this office to avoid taxes and other charges by banks.
You are advised to please go to the office of
US Comptroller Of The Currency to pick up your Master ATM Card without any
payment.Please kindly notify me on this message if you receive it. The IMF
is with you to make sure you receive your payment. As soon as I hear from
you contact information of the US Comptroller Of The Currency to pick up
your Master ATM will be given to you.
Truly yours,
Jeff Frank,
Executive Director
(IMF) Int'l Fund Management Office.
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Anti-fraud resources:
