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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:
- "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: Zarani <kzarani@freemail.hu>
Reply-To: Zarani <patriciapat@163.com>
Date: Tue, 27 May 2014 11:14:41 +0100 (BST)
Subject: URGENT RESPONSE NEEDED
Â
Madam Zarani Miller.
Cote D'ivoire West Africa,
10 BP Rue 14 Abidjan
Good day my dear i seek your co-operation receive my inherited wealth to transfer and invest in the stable economy of your country,i need Christianity or Islam fearing partner overseas
There is this ($6.5 million) which my late husband Laurent Desire Miller kept for me and my son David Urch Miller in the bank Cote D’ivorie before he was assasinated during the crisis in cote D’ivorie in year 2011.
Now I have decided to invest these money in your country or anywhere safe enough outside for security and political reasons. I want you to help me claim and retrieve these fund from the bank and transfer it into your personal account in your country
If you can be of an assistance to me i will be pleased to offer to you 20% Of the total fund. I await your soonest response.
Regards & God Bless
Mrs Zarani Miller
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Anti-fraud resources:
