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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 us 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)
- "liberia" (a location commonly mentioned 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: martins <abdulnaza1000@hotmail.com>
Reply-To: martz2006@gmail.com
Date: Tue, 31 Aug 2010 04:09:49 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Will you help?
Will you help?
I apologize for contacting you without prior knowledge of who you are but my condition is rather urgent which is why I decided to go ahead and relate it to you then seek for your help.
To cut short a long story, I am Martins from Liberia. My late father deposited some money (six million US dollars) in my name with a bank in Ghana and authorized that I get a foreigner that will help me invest the money before the bank releases the money. I have now completed college and think it’s time I withdrew the money but the bank will not release the money to me since the deposit has a standing order that the money be transferred under the care of a foreigner that will help me invest it.
I therefore need your help to retrieve the money from the bank in Ghana for onward release to you so I will join you for the investment of the money. I will be glad to furnish you with more information as soon as I hear from you.
Thank you,
Martins.
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Anti-fraud resources:
