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)
  • "i will like you to " (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "might come to you as a surprise" (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: "egoscott208@yahoo.com" <egoscott0008@gmail.com>
Reply-To: egoscott208@yahoo.com
Date: Mon, 19 May 2008 02:39:05 -0800
Subject: URGENT.


Dear Friend,



Greetings to you in the name of our heavenly God. This mail might come to
you as a surprise and the temptation to ignore it as unserious could come
into your mind, but please, consider it as a divine wish and accept it with
a deep sense of humility. My name is Mr. Scott Ego; I'm a 55 years old man,
living in United Kingdom, though an American. I was a merchant and I owned
two businesses in Dubai.I was also married with two children. My wife and my
two children died in the September 11 plane bomb blast that happened in USA
5 years ago. Before this happened my business and my concern for making
money was all my interest as a living man. I never really cared about other
values in life. But since the lost of my family,I have found a new desire to
assist helpless families.I have been helping orphans in orphanage/motherless
homes. I have donated some money to orphans in Sudan,South Africa, Cameroon,
Brazil, Spain, Austria,Germany and some Asian countries but now my health is
no more fine. Before I became ill, I kept $ 9.5Million in a long-term
deposit account in a SECURITY/FINANCE COMPANY. Presently, I'm in a hospital
where I have been undergoing treatment for esophagealcancer. Since I lost my
ability to talk and my Doctors have told me that I have only a few months to
live. It is my last wish to see this money distributed to charity
organizations. Because relatives and friends have plundered so much of my
wealth since my illness,I cannot live with the agony of entrusting this
hugeresponsibility to any of them. I will like you to reply me here with
your full contact information's to enable us proceed.I will be looking
forward to hear from you.



Mr. Scott Ego

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam