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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.
- This email message is a next of kin scam.
Fraud email example:
From: "Albert Peters Esq." <davidgabno.law@gmail.com>
Reply-To: barralbertpeters@e1.ru
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 2015 18:13:56 +0200
Subject: Re:urgent mesg
Sir,
Permit me to use this electronic message to make this very important
request due to its urgency. I know you will be surprised receiving this
since we do not know in person. My name is Mr Albert Peters, a legal
practitioner representing Late Mr Davison , a wealthy Petro-chemical
Engineer who died in 2010 as a result of heart attack. I want to confide in
you in an urgent matter that relates to deposit made by this particular
client of mine in a bank before his death. I am seeking for your consent
to authorize me to present you as his appointed heir and to instruct his
bank to remit the sum of $7.5Million deposited in a suspended bank account
to you as his relative.The time given by the law to present the heir for
this claim will elapse at the end of this uear and yet all my efforts to
locate any other of relatives have failed . His bank has issued a last
ultimatum to me as his lawyer to present his heir for the claim before the
end of the year otherwise the fund will be confiscated hence the need of
contacting you .
Be informed that the intended transaction will be executed under a
legitimate manner that will protect you and I from any breach of law. I
will use my position as the client attorney to guarantee the processing of
the needed legal documentations and successful execution of this
transaction. All I require is your understanding and honest cooperation for
success. I will give you comprehensive details if you confirm your interest.
I hope to hearing from you soonest.
Your Sincerely
Albert Peters
(Abogados Defensores Y
Los Profesionales Del Derecho)
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Anti-fraud resources:
