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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:
- "dormant account" (Banks mentioned in 419 scams are always fake (real banks don't communicate using mobile phones or free webmail addresses))
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
- Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.
Fraud email example:
From: "Business Gateway Information" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <gateway.associations@virgilio.it>
Date: Mon, 15 Feb 2010 01:25:34 -0000
Subject: Business Gateway Information AMM150210
.Dear Sir,
I am a consultant responsible for the re-uniting of specific accounts with relatives of depositors. Despite the efforts of banks and building societies to reunite these funds with their owners, they build up as dormant accounts assets in the banking system. I do a great deal of work for several financial institutions in this area and would be happy to connect you with a business opportunity you just might be interested in. Considering the times we are in, I will take this as a windfall.
Do get back to me for more information and clarification!
Yours truly,
John Jonathan Thompson (JJT) Esq
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Anti-fraud resources:
