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 friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "huge deposit" (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)
  • "lagos" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
• This email message is a next of kin scam.
• This email lists mobile phone numbers. Use of such numbers is typical for scams because they allow criminals to conceal their true location. They can receive calls in an Internet cafe from where they send you emails, while pretending to be in some office.
  • +2348065984431 (Nigeria, prepaid mobile phone)
• 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.
  • christony12009@hotmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: kenneth@gwip.com.my <kenneth@gwip.com.my>
Reply-To: christony12009@hotmail.com
Date: Mon, 16 Mar 2009 03:28:23 +0800
Subject: Dear Friend,


Dr. Chris Tony PhD
Orient Bank (Nig) Plc
54, Marina Street, Lagos,
Tel: +234-806-598-4431
Email:christony12009@hotmail.com

Dear Friend,

I am an accountant with Orient Bank (Nig) Plc. My Name is Dr. Chris Tony a Banker. I am the ACCOUNTS MANAGER TO ENGINEER (George Dennis) a National of your country, who is a contractor with the DEPARTMENT OF PETROLEUM RESOURCES MARINA STREET, LAGOS.

On January 30th 2000, my cousin, his wife and three children were involved in the Kenya airways flight with registration number 5Y-BEN which departed from Nairobi to Lagos, the entire family died in this fatal air crash.
After these several unsuccessful attempts, I decided to locate any member of his family hence I contacted you. I have contacted you to assist in repatriating the money and property left behind by my cousin before they get confiscated or declared unserviceable by the bank where these huge deposits were lodged, particularly the Orient Bank (Nig) Plc.

Where the deceased had an account Valued at ($15 million U.S Dollars) has issued me a notice to provide the next of kin. Or have the account confiscated within the next ten official working days.

Since I have been unsuccessful in locating the relatives for over 6 years now, I seek your consent to present you as the next of kin of the deceased all I require is your honest cooperation to enable us seeing this deal through. I guarantee that this will be executed under a legitimate arrangement that will protect you and me from any breach of the law.

Best regards,
Dr.Chris

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam