joewein.de LLC fighting spam and scams on the Internet

Try our spam filter! Free trial for 30 days

"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

• About the 419 (Advance Fee) scam
• "Is that email a scam?" - Check it online here!
  
• Frequently asked Questions (419 FAQ)
• Phone numbers used by 419 scammers
  (+225 +229 +234 +27 +31 +32 +34 +44 other)
• Company names mentioned in 419 spam:
  1 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
• Support our efforts to stop scams!
  
• How to report 419 spam to us
• What can you do when you receive 419 spam
  
  
• Spam archive, Daily index
  

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.

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.
• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "dear sir/madam" (a standard Nigerian greeting phrase)
  • "a security company " (this will cost you money - that's what the scam is about)
  • "barrister" (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
• This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
  
• Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.
• 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.
  • tinnandlovu@yahoo.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "tinna ndlovu" <tinnandlovu5@hotmail.com>
Date: Sat, 08 Jul 2006 13:00:39 +0200
Subject: [28.5m TO TRANSFER]

From: Mrs. Tina Ndlovu.

Dear Sir/Madam,

Priveat:Email:tinnandlovu@yahoo.com

 

I am writing you this e-mail with the trust that I have in you as a man of God. I believe that you are the right candidate to be approached in this regard.

 

However, I got your e-mail address from the Internet  search. I chose you because you are a man of God Like I have rightly pointed out in my first paragraph. I am going to send you a detailed e-mail by as soon as i hear from you requesting you to assist me to transfer my husband's money into your bank account in your country. He is dead in South Africa a month ego and the fund came from the fund he was given by the Government of Zimbabwea as the Director General in the  Department of Agriculture for the settlement of Zimbabwean farmers and he decided to divert the fund to better the lives of his family with respect to the prevailing situation in my country and then came to South Africa.

 

The amount involved is US $28.5M and the fund is in the custody of a Security Company in South Africa and the person you can contact now with respect to this fund is Barrister Smith Anderson I am going to give you his details in due course. Before I go further in this transaction, I would like you to let me know if you are interested to assist and then I will give you the lawyers

details because he has all the documents relating to the fund and where it is deposited.

So, Let me hear from you as soon as you can so that I can arrange with the lawyer and then inform him about your participation in this transaction. 

I look forward to your urgent response.

Yours faithfully,

Mrs. Tina Ndlovu.

---

Want to see who's on the other side? Chat via video on Windows Live Messenger!

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam