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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:
- "i will like you to " (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "foreign remittance department" (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 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: philip frank <philipfrank89@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 12 Dec 2013 18:17:56 +0200
Subject: I WAIT TO HEAR FROM YOU
Dear Sir,
I AM MR.MR.PHILIP FRANK, THE MANAGER FOREIGN REMITTANCE DEPARTMENT
(I.C.B) INTERNATIONAL COMMERCIAL BANK IN GHANA. I WILL LIKE YOU TO
INDICATE YOUR INTEREST TO RECEIVE THE TRANSFER OF US$3.5 MILLION. 6O% FOR
ME AND 40% FOR YOU, YOU WILL STAND AS NEXT OF KING TO MY LATE CUSTOMER WHO
DIED IN PLAN CRASH ON THE (26TH OF DECEMBER 2010) LIVING NO BODY BEHIND. I
WILL LIKE YOU TO FORWARD THE INFORMATION BELLOW TO ME IF YOU ARE INTERESTED.
1) Your Full Name............
2) Your Age........................
3) Marital Status.....................
4) Your Phone Number...............
5) Your Fax Numbers...................
6) Your Country............................
7) Your Occupation........................
8) Sex............................................
WAITING TO HEAR FROM YOU SOON
YOURS FAITHFULLY
MR.PHILIP FRANK,
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Anti-fraud resources:
