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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 sir/madam" (a standard Nigerian greeting phrase)
- "million united states dollars" (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)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Mr. Gareth Thompson" <garethompson@avoe.ge>
Reply-To: garethompson101@maktoob.com
Date: Wed, 7 Apr 2010 15:39:11 +0300 (EEST)
Subject: IMPORTANT MEMO, PLEASE RESPOND
Dear Sir/madam
Attention:
My name is Mr. Gareth Thompson, an American diplomat working under the
United Nation Development Program (UNDP). I was newly assigned to head the
Diplomatic Office of the United Nations Regional Office in West Africa.
An overdue payment for you has been delayed by the International Monetary
Fund (IMF) and Financial Services Authority. This was due to many
irregularities found on the trace of the origin/source of the funds by the
IMF international networking systems.
After due investigation, the INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND (IMF) has
approved to release part of the funds in the amount of Seven million
United States Dollars only (US$7M) from their United States Secure
Diplomatic Transit Account (USDTA). You are advised to get back to us with
your full contact details to enable us process the delivery of your fund
from our Diplomatic Office in New York.
Please confirm your direct contact details to us to avoid misdirection of
funds.
Your Full Name:____________________________
Your Complete Address :----------------------------------------
City and State of Residence:_____________________
Country:____________________________________
Direct Telephone Number:_____________________
Mobile Number:_____________________________
AGE:________________________________
OCCUPATION:_____________________________
I await your immediate response.
Yours Faithfully,
Gareth Thompson
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Anti-fraud resources:
