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:
  • "dear sir/madam" (a standard Nigerian greeting phrase)
  • "a security company " (this will cost you money - be careful with upfront payments to anyone you only know through email, especially if they promise you a lot of money. Never ever send money by Western Union or MoneyGram to people you do not know personally. )
  • "for your efforts, i am prepared to offer you " (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)
  • "huge amount of money" (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)
  • "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)
  • ",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)
  • "00,000.00" (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)
  • "your urgent reply" (scammers rush victims so they don't have time to think properly)
  • "the key word to this transaction is absolute confidentiality" (scammers urge victims to keep the transaction secret because they don't want anyone to point out to them that it is a scam)
  • "is 100% risk free" (almost true for the criminal - arrests of online criminals are rare)
  • "my direct line" (a "direct line" in a scam usually means an untraceable mobile phone number used by a scammer in an internet cafe, a redirection service number that forwards to a mobile or a free voicemailbox in a different country.)
• This email message is a orphan scam.
• 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.
  • kwumaaguli@gmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: agulikwuma@volny.cz (may be fake)
Date: Fri, 03 Oct 2008 16:03:39 +0200 (CEST)
Subject: =?iso-8859-2?Q?=28PRIVATE_AND_CONFIDENTIAL=29?=

(PRIVATE AND CONFIDENTIAL)
KWUMA AGULI
77 ABEL ROAD
YEOVILLE, JHB
SOUTH AFRICA
TEL: 27-73 3935 626.
kwumaaguli@gmail.com
Dear Sir/Madam,

With due respect my name is kwuma aguli, the eldest son of MR.ANDREW
OWEN of ZIMBABWE. It might be a surprise to you where I got your contact
address; I got it from the South African Information Network Online
(SAINO) at South African Trade Center. And it is coming to you with
good intention. During the current crisis against the farmers of Zimbabwe
by the supporters of our President, ROBERT MUGABE to claim all the white
owned farms in our country. He ordered all the white farmers to surrender
their farms to his party members and their followers.

My father was one of the greatest and best farmers in the country and
he did
not support the President's political ideology, and the President's supporters
invaded my father's farm and burnt down everything, shot him and as
a result of the injuries sustained, he became sick and died after five
days. And after his death, my younger brother and I decided to move
out of Zimbabwe for the safety of our lives to South Africa. But before
he died he wrote his will, which reads "MY BELOVEED SON, I WISH TO DRAW
YOUR ATTENTION TO THE SUM OF US$25,000,000.00 TWENTY FIVE MILLION UNITED
STATES DOLLARS ONLY)
WHICH I DEPOSITED IN A BOX WITH A SECURITY COMPANY IN JOHANNESBURG SOUTH
AFRICA IN CASE OF MY ABSENCE ON EARTH CAUSED BY DEATH ONLY.YOU SHOULD
SOLICIT FOR A RELIABLE FOREIGN PARTNER TO ASSIST YOU TO TRANSFERTHIS
MONEY OUT OF SOUTH AFRICA FOR INVESTMENT PURPOSES. I DEPOSITED THE MONEY
IN YOUR NAME AND YOU CAN CLAIM IT ALONE WITH THE DEPOSIT CODE. YOUR
MOTHER HAS ALL THE DECUMENTS. TAKE GOOD CARE OF YOUR MOTHER AND BROTHER".

From the above, you will understand that the lives and future of my family
depends on this money and I will be very grateful if you can assist
us. My younger brother and I are now living in South Africa as POLITICAL
ASYLUM SEEKERS and the financial law of SOUTH AFRICA does not allow
ASYLUM SEEKERS certain financial rights to such huge amount of money.
In view of this, I cannot invest this money in South- Africa, hence
I am asking you to assist me to transfer this money out of South- Africa
for investment purposes.

For your efforts, I am prepared to offer you 20% of the total fund, while
5% will be set aside for local and international expenses and 75% will
be kept for my family. Finally, modalities on how the transfer will
be done will be conveyed to you once we establish trust and confidence
between ourselves. Looking forward to your urgent reply. For detailed
information, please contact me on my direct line + 27-73 3935 626.

NOTE: THE KEY WORD TO THIS TRANSACTION IS ABSOLUTE CONFIDENTIALITY AND
SECRECY. THIS TRANSACTION IS 100% RISK FREE. YOUR URGENT RESPONSE WILL
BE HIGHLY APPRECIATED.

All the best,

KWUMA AGULI
kwumaaguli@gmail.com
(FOR THE FAMILY).
NB: ATTACHED IS THE PICTURE OF THE MONEY TAKEN BY MY LATE FATHER AT THE
TIME IT WAS DEPOSITED AT THE SECURITY COMPANY.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam