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:

• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "dear friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "hundred thousand us dollars" (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)
  • "dormant account" (Banks mentioned in 419 scams are always fake (real banks don't communicate using mobile phones or free webmail addresses))
• This email message is a next of kin scam.

Fraud email example:

From: "engelmanns Gazeta.pl" <engelmanns@gazeta.pl>
Date: Wed, 4 Jun 2008 09:52:05 -0700
Subject: RE INQUIRY FROM WOLFGANG ENGELMAN


My dear friend,


I am contacting you in regards to a proposal about some particular funds in
a dormant account. Though I know that a transaction of this magnitude will
make any one apprehensive and worried, but I am assuring you that you got
nothing to worry about.


I discovered an abandoned sum of US$17,500, 000.00 (Seventeen Million, Five
Hundred Thousand US Dollars) in a dormant account in the bank where I work.
This account belongs to one of our foreign Customers (an American) late Dr
George Brumley Jr. This very account has been dormant for some years now.
After my investigations, I discovered

that the account owner has died since July 2003 with all his family members
in a plane crash. Please see the site link below.


http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/africa/07/20/kenya.crash/index.html


Since his death, nobody has come forward to lay claims to this money and
recently my bank issued a notice that the account will be declared
unserviceable and the funds called to the government treasury since no
relative of the deceased customer has come up for it.


In order to avert this negative action of the bank, I now seek your
permission to have you stand as a next of kin so that funds can be released
in your favor as the next of kin.


Please acknowledge receipt of this message in acceptance of our mutual
business endeavor by furnishing me with your personal details if you are
willing to work with me on this.



1. Your full name
2. Complete Address
3. Profession/type of business
4. Telephone and fax numbers
5. copy of your ID


This information will enable me file the relevant application through a
lawyer, so as to indicate you as his next of kin after which you will
formally apply for the release of the funds as the next of kin to the
deceased customer to the bank. We are going to share the total sum on final
conclusion of this transaction on a 50-50 equal basis.



Ifyou are truly disposed and capable of handling this, reach me immediately.

Regards.


Mr. Wolfgang Engelmann
140 Lower Marsh
London
SE1 7AE
Email:

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam