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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)
- "may come to you as a surprise" (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: "Prof. M. M. Iwu" <iwumaurice84@yahoo.com.hk>
Reply-To: imaurice78@yahoo.com.hk
Date: Fri, 20 Nov 2009 07:34:49 +0000
Subject: MAY I HAVE YOUR CONSENT TO THIS?
Dear Friend
I guess this letter may come to you as a surprise since I had no
previous correspondence with you. My Name is Prof. Maurice M. Iwu,
Chairman Independent Electoral Commission (INEC). I am seeking your
partnership in a mutual benefit project involving repatriation of
funds amount in Millions of United States Dollars out from my country
mutual benefit of Equity Business Investment.
The sum to be expended was derived from an allocation given to my
commission during the 2007 General Elections which took place in my
country. As Chairman of the commission, I am faced with petitions and
probes for alleged misappropriation of fund allocated to my commission
during the elections; hence I need a foreign partner to work with me
in moving the said sum abroad. I will re-profile the said sum in your
name/company with all related documents for easy transfer out from my
country.
Sincerely Yours.
Prof. Maurice M. Iwu
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Anti-fraud resources:
