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:
  • ",000,000" (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)
  • "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.
  • hillapeh@yahoo.com.hk (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "Peprah Hillary" <hillapeh@mailbox.hu>
Reply-To: hillapeh@yahoo.com.hk
Date: Mon, 2 Jun 2008 16:45:14 +0000
Subject: PLEASE CAN I TRUST YOU?


Good day,

My name is Mr.Hillary Peprah, My Elder brother Dr. Kwame Peprah, Ibrahim
Adam former Minister of Food and Agriculture, and the former Director of the
Legal Sector, Private and Financial Institutions Division of the Ministry of
Finance, George Sipah Yankey, were sentence various prison jail terms, by
the current ruling government.

My aim of contacting you is to crave your indulgence to assist us in
securing some funds abroad for safe keeping. Here my Elder brother advised
me to look for a foreigner that will be reliable and trustworthy to assist
me to stand as my Elder brother foreign business partner abroad whom my
Elder brother made the deposit on his behalf, to claim the box of precious
items from the security company and ship it overseas for your safe hand
keeping in other to avoid any trace from the ruling government.

The need to contact you arose from the fact that the present government is
cracking down on the opposition and trying to trace all the funds that
belong to it, if they succeed in tracing this fund to us, they will seize it
and thereby incapacitating our campaign abilities. We wish to relocate this
fund in a foreigner's name to avoid any trace. All I need from you is an
assurance that you can handle the amount involved (US$6,000,000) comfortably
and that I can also trust you with this arrangement.

Be rest assured that there is no risk involved since I have taken care of
everything. I want you to immediately inform me of your willingness in
assisting and co-operating with us, so that I can send you full details of
this transaction and let us make arrangement for a solid trust to each other
and discuss at length on how to transfer this funds.

I am able to give you my name without fear because I got your contact during
my search for a reliable, honest and a trust worthy person to entrust this
project, so it would be appreciated if you can maintain the confidential
nature of this letter and the whole transaction.

Please if you are not interested in this business, let me know in time, so
that I will think of next thing to do. Please send your response through my
alternative email addresses below for security measures:

PLEASE KINDLY REPLY ME TO MY ALTENATIVE EMAIL ID AT
(hillapeh@yahoo.com.hk)


Thanks and God bless,

Yours sincerely,

Mr.Hillary Peprah

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam