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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:
- "dearest one," (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "liberia" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
- "abidjan" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Allen" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <allanisaac23@yahoo.com>
Date: Mon, 11 Apr 2011 18:20:31 -0000
Subject: Greetings
Dearest one,
Kindly permit me to present this crucial issue that requires immediate attention; how we lost a huge quantity of diamond out of troubles.My sister Sonia is 18 years old and I’m 22. Our father was a Personal Assistant to defunct President of Liberia. We grew up in the streets of Abidjan selling cold water for our slave master who took us across the border during the civil war.I am writing you this letter with courage and fear within us.We are in search for a person able to love us and live together.
Our parents were assassinated by rebels because of his involvement in politics. Our house was burnt down and the compound has become a fearful bush but we were forced by starvation to go and unearth a treasure box our mom buried in our home garden. We found Diamond, jewelries and a certificate of funds deposited by our dad in Europe.
We were afraid to sell the treasures but we make an attempt to sell a little quantity but after we have problem with the entire treasures. Thieves entered into our room, took the whole Diamond and jewelries and Sonia was rapped. I was thoroughly beaten and now we are left with only the document. I suspect a cocoa trader in our area who bought the little quantity of the Diamond,he must be involved because I informed him that we still have more of the diamond.
Sonia and I wish to find a sympathetic fellow from abroad to help us get away from our difficult situation. We have communication with the firm where the fund was deposited and the fund is there while we seek for a trustworthy person to stand on our behalf the funds our parents deposited in Europe.
Please reply to discuss rewards for help rendered.
Kind regards,
Isaac and sister
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Anti-fraud resources:
