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:
  • "million united states 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)
  • "is 100% risk-free" (almost true for the criminal - arrests of online criminals are rare)
  • "i got your address from " (this SPAM email was probably sent to thousands of people)
• 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.
  • johnjohnson@webmail.co.za (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: rita johnson <ritajohnson_mike01@hotmail.com>
Date: Thu, 4 Oct 2007 06:56:14 +0000
Subject: URGENT FAMILY HELP NEEDED



MRS RITA JOHNSON.Address 48 Venderbeek Edenvale South African.E-MAIL: johnjohnson@webmail.co.za URGENT FAMILY HELP NEEDED Dear; My name is Rita Johnson , the wife of Mr. Mike Johnson of Zimbabwe. This might be a surprise to you about where I got your contact address. I got your address from the South African Chamber of Commerce in Johannesburg, South Africa. During the current war against the farmers in Zimbabwe from the supports of our President Robert Mugabe to claim all Opposition Party farms to his party members and his followers, he ordered all white farmers to surrender all their farms to his party members and his followers. My Husband was among one of the best farmers in our country and because he did not support Mugabe’s ideas, Mugabe’s supporters invaded my Husband’s farm and burnt everything in the farm, killed my Husband and made away with a lot of items in my Husbands farm. Before the death of my Husband he deposited with one of the Security Company in Johannesburg, South Africa the sum of US$20 Million (Twenty Million United States Dollars). After the death of my Husband, we decided to move to the Republic of South Africa where he had deposited the money in the Security Company as valuables. So I and my son (JOHN) decided to contact overseas firm and companies that will assist us to move this money out of South Africa because as asylum seekers we are not allowed to operate any bank account within South Africa. We have agreed to offer you 20% of the total sum for your assistance, 5% will be mapped out for any expenses that may be incurred in the course of this transaction and 75% will be for us and the family to invest in your country. All I want you to do is to furnish me with your entire personal phone and fax numbers for easy communication, or you can contact my son(Henry) on this his email address: johnjohnson@webmail.co.za Note that this transaction is 100% risk-free and absolutely confidential. Thanks and God bless. Regards, Mrs. Rita Johnson
_________________________________________________________________
Invite your mail contacts to join your friends list with Windows Live Spaces. It's easy!
http://spaces.live.com/spacesapi.aspx?wx_action=create&wx_url=/friends.aspx&mkt=en-us

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam