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:

• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "dear friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "it will be a bank to bank transfer" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "hundred thousand united state 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)
  • "united state dollar" (this email uses bad English)
• This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
  

Fraud email example:

From: milison narh <millky_nah@hotmail.com>
Reply-To: <narh_milly@yahoo.com>
Date: Thu, 2 Aug 2007 11:37:31 +0000
Subject: help:



Dear Friend,
My name is Milison Neah. I am the Regional manager of International Commercial Bank Ghana Limited, Takoradi branch in the Western region of Ghana
. I am a man of peace, married with two lovely kids. I never want
problems in my life, it was just because of my present financial
situation that I have carefully planned to utilize this opportunity
that came my way, and I only hope you can assist me not to persecute
me. If you don't want this proposal, you can kindly forget that I ever
contacted you. I will be glad you did for the sake of my job.I
have packaged a financial transaction that will benefit you and me, as
the Regional manager of the Bank; it is my duty to send financial
report to the head office in the capital city, Accra
, at the end of each business year. In the course of last year 2006,
business report, I discovered that my branch made eight million five
hundred thousand United State dollars only (US$8.500,000.00) which my
head office is not aware of, and will never be aware of. I have placed
this funds on what we call escrow call account with any beneficiary.As
an officer of this bank, I cannot be directly connected to this money,
so my aim of contacting you is to assist me receive this money in your
bank account and get 30% of the total funds as commission. There are
practically no risk involved, it will be a bank to bank transfer, all I
need from you is to stand claim as the original depositor of this fund
who made the deposit so that my head office can order the transfer to
your designated bank account. If you accept to work with me, I will
appreciate it very much. My email is as above. Email me if you think
we can work together so that we can go over the details. Thank you in
advance and May God bless you and your family.

Regards,
_________________________________________________________________
With Windows Live Hotmail, you can personalize your inbox with your favorite color.
www.windowslive-hotmail.com/learnmore/personalize.html?locale=en-us&ocid=TXT_TAGLM_HMWL_reten_addcolor_0607

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam