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:
  • "central bank of nigeria" (the name of a person or institution often appearing 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: "ROBERT MUELLER" <fedralinvestigationbeura.fbi@live.com>
Date: Fri, 13 Jun 2008 18:57:09 +0200 (CEST)
Subject: *****SPAM***** FBI SEEKING TO WIRETAP INTERNET


Spam detection software, running on the system "radius2.beosms.com", has
identified this incoming email as possible spam. The original message
has been attached to this so you can view it (if it isn't spam) or label
similar future email. If you have any questions, see
the administrator of that system for details.

Content preview: ROBERT MUELLER. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FBI FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
FBI.WASHINGTON DC. FBI SEEKING TO WIRETAP INTERNET EMAIL: fedralinvestigationbeura.fbi@live.com
ATTENTION: We believe this notification meets you in a very good present
state of mind and health. We the Federal bureau of investigation (FBI)Washington,DC
in conjunction with some other relevant Investigation Agencies here in the
United states of America have recently been informed through our Global intelligence
monitoring network that you presently have a transaction going on with the
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) as regards to your over due contract payment
which was fully endorsed in your favor accordingly. [...]

Content analysis details: (8.6 points, 8.0 required)

pts rule name description
---- ---------------------- --------------------------------------------------
-1.8 ALL_TRUSTED Passed through trusted hosts only via SMTP
2.1 SUBJ_ALL_CAPS Subject is all capitals
1.3 MISSING_HEADERS Missing To: header
1.6 URG_BIZ BODY: Contains urgent matter
1.5 MILLION_USD BODY: Talks about millions of dollars
0.6 US_DOLLARS_3 BODY: Mentions millions of $ ($NN,NNN,NNN.NN)
0.0 BAYES_50 BODY: Bayesian spam probability is 40 to 60%
[score: 0.5000]
1.2 ADVANCE_FEE_2 Appears to be advance fee fraud (Nigerian 419)
1.4 ADVANCE_FEE_3 Appears to be advance fee fraud (Nigerian 419)
0.6 ADVANCE_FEE_4 Appears to be advance fee fraud (Nigerian 419)
-0.0 AWL AWL: From: address is in the auto white-list

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam