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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 fake company names, fake addresses, non-existent institutions/documents or other details have appeared in scams before:
- The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "diplomatic immunity" ("diplomats" who perform deliveries of cash or other valuables to you only exist 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: "Lawrence K. Wilson" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <lawrencekwilson90@rediffmail.com>
Date: Fri, 30 Jul 2010 16:59:35 -0500
Subject: Business Proposal
Hello,
My name is Sgt. Lawrence K. Wilson. I am an American soldier (USF-I) and a Command Sgt. serving in the military with the 1st Armored Division in Iraq. As you know we are being attacked everyday by insurgents, car/suicide bombers in Iraq.
In 2009 I managed to secure Ten Million Euro, these was part of the stash money found in Baghdad to have belonged to Saddam Hussein's family and associates. This money has been kept somewhere outside Baghdad for some time now but with the proposed troops withdrawal by our President to end the war and make lasting peace with Iraq militant and terrorist, I am so afraid that these money may be discovered. My contact to you is to make sure that the money is move to a safe hand pending the completion of my assignment here.
Visit http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2988455.stm
I am ready to compensate you generously well because there is no strings attached as Iraq is a war zone. I plan on using diplomatic immunity-cover to ship this money to you as military cargo. I am contacting you with confidence as all arrangements for the successful delivery has been put in place. All I need from you is to receive the cargo at your location from the delegated diplomat.
I am expecting your positive reply so as to extend more confidential details to you. I hope I can trust you.
Yours sincerely,
Lawrence K. Wilson.
Command Sgt. Baghdad Iraq
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Anti-fraud resources:
