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joewein.de LLC
fighting spam and scams on the Internet
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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam
The so-called "419" scam is a type of fraud dominated by criminals from Nigeria and other countries in Africa. Victims of the scam are promised a large amount of money, such as a lottery prize, inheritance, money sitting in some bank account, etc.
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.
Keep in mind that scammers DO NOT use their real names when defrauding people.
The criminals either abuse names of real people or companies or invent names or addresses.
Any real people or companies mentioned below have NO CONNECTION to the scammers!
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:
- This email uses a separate reply address that is different from the sender address. Spammers use this to get replies even when the original spam sending accounts have been shut down. Also, sometimes the sender addresses are legitimate looking but fake and only the reply address is actually an email account controlled by the scammers.
- The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "dear friend" (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: "Alaka Yusuf Lookman" <alaklokma@gmail.com>
Reply-To: <alakalookman1@f-mail.net>
Date: Sun, 14 Jun 2009 20:22:03 -0500
Subject: I REALLY NEED TO BE CONVINCED
ATTENTION: DEAR FRIEND
SIR/MADAM,
MY NAME IS MR. ALAKA YUSUF LOOKMAN MANAGER OF A BANK (NAME OF THE BANK
WITHHELD) IN WEST AFRICA - NIGERIA.
WITH MY POSITION I GENERATED 4.3 MILLION, UNITED STATES DOLLARS WHICH I
REALIZED FROM OUR NEW BRANCHES WE SET-UP ON 60% OF THE AFRICAN COUNTRIES AND
IT STARTED FIVE YEARS AGO TILL LAST YEAR.
I AM PROPOSING TO YOU TO STAND AS THE BENEFICIARY OF THIS MONEY; BECAUSE
AS THE REGIONAL MANAGER I DONT NEED TO BE INVOLVED WITH THIS KIND OF MONEY.
I AM WILLING TO PART 25% OF THE TOTAL AMOUNT WITH YOU. WITH MY POSITION
THIS TRANSFER WILL BE DONE SMOOTHLY.
CAN YOU PROVIDE A GOOD CURRENT ACCOUNT WERE THIS MONEY WOULD BE
TRANSFERRED? BUT I REALLY NEED TO BE CONVINCED THAT I CAN TOTALLY RELY ON
YOU TO CARRY
OUT THIS DEAL AND ALSO KEEP THE MONEY UNTIL I MEET WITH YOU IN YOUR
COUNTRY, WHICH WE WILL ARRANGE.
PLEASE REPLY TO alakalookman1@f-mail.net including your:
{1} PHONE AND FAX NUMBERS
{2} YOUR FULL NAME, ADDRESS AND PASSPORT E.T.C
THANKS FOR YOUR KIND CO-OPERATION. MAY GOD BLESS YOU AS YOU RESPOND.
YOURS SINCERELY,
MR. ALAKA YUSUF LOOKMAN
REGIONAL MANAGER
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Anti-fraud resources:
