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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:
- "dear friend" (a common phrase found 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: "Alexander Kovalev" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <sashenka.kovalev@yandex.ru>
Date: Sat, 20 Oct 2018 22:02:08 -0300
Subject: KEEP PRIVATE
Greetings my dear Friend,
Can you keep a cordial secret? I am in search of an individual that can assist me in carrying out a transaction successfully. If only you can comply and maintain confidentiality;
I work as the Director of Planning and Implementation at the Ukrainian Department of Finance. There is an unacredited VALUE EARNED WARRANTS RELEASES of over $28million in our Ministry. This corresponds to the equivalence of the total contract-values executed on behalf of various departments by firms who have left Ukraine since the completion of their contract-work. As a result of prolonged period of not presenting a claim personnel.
That been said, we are looking for a trustworthy person that can help us in claiming these funds from our Ministry. If you can comply with us, we will provide to you a 20% share of the total sum and our share will be used for real estate investment in your country with your kind supervision and management on our behalf.
Should you intend to assist us in this proceeding, kindly let us have your consent to reflect this claims in favour of you or your company ASAP.
Do not forget to keep this private.
I trust that this information is sufficient.
Best Regards,
Alex.
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Anti-fraud resources:
