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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:
- "dear friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "million united states 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)
- "barr." (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
- "lome togo" (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: abdul hafez <fahezabdul1@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 22 Jan 2015 02:06:59 -0800
Subject: Reply
Dear Friend,
I am Barr.Abdul Fahez, the personal attorney to my client who has the
same surname with you.He died on a Egyptian Air plane crash with his
entire family . His
fund has been dormant with African development bank Lome Togo
I am seeking for your possible assistance to transfer the sum of
seven million united states dollars in your bank account in your
country as the heir to the fund. The supposed heir is dead, i have all
that is needed for a successful business transaction.
Indicate your interest sending your information, I will send more
details to you.
All procedure will be legal and take due process.
If you have any question feel free to ask.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Barr.Abdul Fahez
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Anti-fraud resources:
