joewein.de LLC fighting spam and scams on the Internet

Try our spam filter! Free trial for 30 days

"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

• About the 419 (Advance Fee) scam
• "Is that email a scam?" - Check it online here!
  
• Frequently asked Questions (419 FAQ)
• Phone numbers used by 419 scammers
  (+225 +229 +234 +27 +31 +32 +34 +44 other)
• Company names mentioned in 419 spam:
  1 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
• Support our efforts to stop scams!
  
• How to report 419 spam to us
• What can you do when you receive 419 spam
  
  
• Spam archive, Daily index
  

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.

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:

• An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "dear friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "can i trust you?" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "there is no risk involved" (almost true for the criminal - arrests of online criminals are rare)
• This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
  
• This email lists free webmail addresses. Use of such addresses is typical for scams. Lotteries, banks and any but the smallest of companies do not normally use such addresses. Criminals use them to anonymously send and receive email at Internet cafes.
  • lee_boyd01@yahoo.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: Sgt Lee Boyd <mr.lee.1@hotmail.com>
Reply-To: <lee_boyd01@yahoo.com>
Date: Wed, 2 May 2007 23:37:31 +0100
Subject: Dear Friend,



Dear Friend,
I am an American soldier, In foreign service with the Third infantry Division in Iraq . I and my superior moved part of discovered funds belonging to fleeing regime leaders in Iraq, the totalamount is $25, 000,000.00 US dollars. This money is being kept safe in asecured location we will disclose to you later. You can go through thisweb link to understand events that took place in Iraq .
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2988455.stm
Basically, sincewe are in government service and we are not allowed to have or keepdiscovered looted funds around us, we have decided to look for someone to help us relocate and keep this funds for us, that is why I have contacted you, so that you can keep it for us in your safe account or custody untill we complete our foreign service in Iraq. We shall divide the total funds in three parts, since you will make us three persons involved in this transaction. You will take30%, while 70% will be forme and my partner. This business is confidential, and it should not be discussed with anyone. There is no risk involved whatsoever as it is only me and my partner that knows the present location of the money.
If you are interested I will send you operational details, my job is to find a good partner that we can trust and that will assistus. Can I trust you? To ensure confidentiality, when you receive this letter,kindly reply me via e-mail: lee_boyd01@yahoo.com signifyingyourinterest including your confidential phone and fax numbers for quickcommunication and also your physical locational address.
Respectfully,Sgt Lee Boyd

_________________________________________________________________
Discover the new Windows Vista
http://search.msn.com/results.aspx?q=windows+vista&mkt=en-US&form=QBRE

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam