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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:
- "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: "G.J.Durward" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <gjdurward1932@yahoo.co.jp>
Date: Tue, 6 Jul 2010 21:55:20 +0100
Subject: Your Much Awaited Fund.
*This message was transferred with a trial version of CommuniGate(r) Pro*
My name is G.J.Durward, I am an international Envoy, due to my track record I was contracted to deliver your package(17.7 Million U.S.Dollars) to you.
Your not being able to receive your package is due to some logistics issues that are quite prevailing and was not properly managed by those initially supposed to deliver your package.
The good news is that I am presently in the U.S to deliver your package but it is pertinent that I inform you that your package has been intercepted and is under the custody of the customs due to the content of the package.
The package which has been sealed contains your inheritance to the tune of 17.7 million United States Dollars and became known to the US Customs after it was scanned at my port of entry
I implore you to acknowledge the receipt of this email with the following information,
Full Names:
Complete Residential Address:
Occupation:
Age:
Telephone and Mobile Numbers:
I await your response.
Regards,
G.J.Durward.
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Anti-fraud resources:
