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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:
- "transaction is risk free" (almost true for the criminal trying to scam you - arrests of online criminals are rare)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "MR MC GOWANJR" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <mrmcgowanjr4@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 11 Nov 2009 11:20:44 +0100
Subject: I NEED YOUR URGENTLY REPLY.
Dear,
I am making this proposition to you in good faith expecting you to treat the contents with utmost seriousness. I am a legal consultants and financial attorney to one of the commercial banks here in UAE. In the year 2005, one of my clients made a number fixed deposit with my bank which I stand as his guarantor when the deposit was made.
In the year 2007 my client, the wife and 3 kids were involved in auto crash that took the life of the entire family and since then the deposit has been lying unclaimed with the bank because there is no existing next of kin to pursue the claim hence I am contacting you to present you to my bank as business partner to my late client to inherit the claim else my bank will confiscate the funds because the deposit has exceeded it maturity limit. I have decided to employ a foreigner to claim the deposit based on the financial laws here and I think is wise we utilize the funds than have it confiscate by the Government.
I shall detail you on the modalities for claim upon your positive response to execute this deal with me. I want to inform you that this transaction is risk free and the source of funds is genuine. Meanwhile, I would like to know some brief information about you such as age, profession and also let me know if you are employed or you work for yourself.
Await your prompt response.
Regards,
Mr. McGowan Jr
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Anti-fraud resources:
