419 scam: "Mr. James Farid" <harahrs690413@yahoo.co.jp> Dear Friend,

joewein.de LLC
fighting spam and scams on the Internet

Try our spam filter!
Free trial for 30 days

Home

About Us

Spam

419/Nigeria

Fraud

Contact

"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)
- "account opening" (this will cost you money - be careful with upfront payments to anyone you only know through email, especially if they promise you a lot of money. NEVER send money by Western Union or MoneyGram to people you do not know personally - NO EXCEPTIONS! Instant wire transfer services are not meant to be used with strangers because they offer no protection against fraud. That is precisely why the criminals want you send money that way. )
- ",000,000" (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)
- "00,000.00" (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)
- "dormant account" (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 next of kin scam.
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.
- +22968010694 (Benin, probably a prepaid mobile phone)

Fraud email example:

From: "Mr. James Farid" <harahrs690413@yahoo.co.jp>
Reply-To: "Mr. James Farid" <jamesfarid22@yahoo.com.hk>
Date: Mon, 18 May 2015 11:58:49 +0900 (JST)
Subject: Dear Friend,

Dear Friend,

My name is James Farid, the branch manager of my bank here. On a routine inspection I discovered a dormant account with a base of $ 15,000,000.00 (fifteen million U.S. dollars). Upon further investigation I also discovered that the owner of the account died with his wife and their only daughter in a fatal car crash.

He died leaving no beneficiary to the account, my research and review of the account opening file proved that his supposed next of kin died with him as a result of the accident, The bank will approve this money to any foreigner who has the same surname with the deceased, because the former operator of this account was a foreigner.

Therefore I need your full cooperation in this transaction, I will provide all the necessary information needed in order to claim this money, but you have to send me your address and phone number so that I will trust you.

All I require is your honest cooperation and trust worthy to enable us see this arrangement through. I guarantee that this transaction will be executed under a legitimate banking procedure that will protect you from any breach of the law. I will give you the details and necessary procedure to make the transfer a success.

Your early reply in this regard will be appreciated.

Yours truly,

Mr. James Farid.
Tel: +22968010694

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam