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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:
- The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "dear friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "million united states 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)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: Private Address <privadeaddress90@ssummail.com>
Date: Wed, 3 Feb 2010 06:25:52 -0800 (PST)
Subject: Dear Friend,(From Naeema Affiq read and get back to me)
Dear Friend,(From Naeema Affiq read and get back to me)
My name is Naeema Affiq ,I'm contacting you in this transaction is to help me for the investment of the total sum of usd$15 million United States Dollars which I inherited from my late father into a profitable business venture in your country.
For your assistance and effort in this transaction I have decided to give you 20% of the total amount and apart from this, you are going to be in-charge of any investment we shall go into.
Once I hear from you I will be sending you the necessary information you will need to know concerning the conclusion of this transaction shortly.
Yours Sincerely,
Naeema Affiq.
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Anti-fraud resources:
