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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:
- "dear friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "from the desk of" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "million united state 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)
- "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)
- "united state dollar" (this email uses bad English)
- "cotonou" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
- "federal republic of benin" (Benin, Cameroon, etc. are no Federal Republics, unlike Nigeria where this type of scam was invented)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
- This email lists mobile phone numbers. Use of such numbers is typical for scams because they allow criminals to conceal their true location. They can receive calls in an Internet cafe from where they send you emails, while pretending to be in some office.
Fraud email example:
From: "Mrs.Dabalin Padma" <nyoyo3969@gmail.com>
Reply-To: dabalinpadma@mail.com
Date: Tue, 27 Mar 2012 12:35:58 +0200
Subject: From The Desk of Dr.Dabalin Padma
From The Desk of Dr.Dabalin Padma
My Dear Friend
I am Dr.Dabalin Padma, Senior Accountant & the Auditor General Manager
of BANK OF AFRICA, of the Federal Republic of Benin. I work with BANK
OF AFRICA in Cotonou Benin Rep. It is my wish to solicit your
assistance in a business opportunity that will be benefited for you
and I. During our investigation and Auditing in my Bank, in my
department I came across an abandoned sum of money (Twenty Million
Five Hundred Thousand US Dollars) in an account that belongs to one of
our foreign customer late Mrs Alida Scott, a citizen of Lebanon who
died along with her entire family.
I wish to know if we can work together. I would like you to stand as
her Next of Kin to a Fixed Deposit of US$20.5 Million United State
Dollars which she made to our Bank. She died and left nobody behind as
her Next of Kin. The Funds can be transferred to you either through
Bank to Bank wire transfer into any account of your choice. Please get
back to me through either by phone or email if you are interested to
know much about this transaction.
My private mobile phone +229-9681-0093
From the Desk of Dr.Dabalin Padma
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