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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:
- ",500,000" (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: STEPH ATTA <steph.atta@btinternet.com>
Reply-To: stephieatta46@hotmail.fr
Date: Wed, 16 Jun 2010 20:18:26 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Personal Letter From Stephie.
Personal Letter From Stephie.
Dear
Permit me to introduce my self to you. I am Miss Stephie Atta the daughter of late Mr Mamadou Atta from Ivory Coast West Africa. I want to use this medium to request for your assistance for relocation and investment establishment in your custody by transferring my inherited fund to the sum of $6,500,000 USD which I inherited from my late father who was killed for no just cause recently. The fund is deposited with my name in one of the prime bank here and I will require your assistance to receive the fund in your custody for investment establishment purpose in lucrative areas.
I will appreciate if you can positively respond to me on this aspect with your full interest and willingness to co-operate with me for mutual benefits of both parties and your family in general, kindly contact me
for more details on the next step for smooth achievement of the aim.
Yours Sincerely
Miss Stephie Atta
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Anti-fraud resources:
