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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:
- "please endeavor to " (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- This email message is a next of kin scam.
Fraud email example:
From: Elvis Penney <antoniopasquariello@hotmail.it>
Reply-To: <elvis.penney4@yahoo.com.ph>
Date: Thu, 17 Oct 2013 23:33:28 +0000
Subject: Important Message For You
Greetings.
I am Mr. Elvis Penney. I work with one of the
leading Banks here in London, UK. I would need your consent to present
you as the next of kin to our late customer who died of heart attack in
2009. He was a wealthy business man who deposited a huge amount in our
Bank. He died without any registered next of kin as he was long divorced
and had no child.
I was his account officer and have in my
possession all the documents required to present you as his beneficiary
next of kin. I contacted you because you have same name identity with
our late client and can perfectly fit in as next of kin, We can work
together to claim this fund. Please listen, this is real and goes on in
Banks all over the world without people knowing. Let us utilize this
opportunity because it does not come always. A lot of customers open
private accounts with different Banks without the knowledge of their
families and when they die, such money will be lost to the Bank unless
someone comes to claim it. This is how a lot of Bank Directors make so
much money silently.
On your confirmation of this message and
indicating your interest, I will furnish you with more details. Please
endeavor to provide me with the following so that we can discuss in
details
1)Mobile phone numbers
2)Full name
3)Contact address and occupation
4) Any Copy of Your Identification
I urgently hope to get your response as soon as possible.
Yours sincerely,
Mr. Elvis Penney.
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