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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:
- The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "million 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)
- "barrister" (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
- "barr." (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
- "barr.paulanthony@live.com" (this email address has been used in a known scam)
- "barr.paulanthony@live.com" (this email address has been used in a known scam)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
- Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.
- This email lists mobile phone numbers. Use of such numbers is typical for scams because they allow criminals to conceal their true location. They can receive calls in an Internet cafe from where they send you emails, while pretending to be in some office.
Fraud email example:
From: FROM BARRISTER PAUL ANTHONY <barr.paulanthony@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 24 Jun 2010 05:49:57 -0500
Subject: JOINT INVESTMENT OFFER FROM BARRISTER PAUL ANTHONY
Barrister Paul Anthony
Attorney at Law
(Advocates & Solicitors)
PRIVATE TEL: +2348060829774
PRIVATE EMAIL: barr.paulanthony@live.com
I am Barrister Paul Anthony,an attorney at law and i would love to share with you a very important business proposition that will be of mutual benefit to both of us.
A deceased client of mine,that shares the same last name as yours, who here in after shall be referred to as my late client, died as the result of a heart-related condition on March 12th 2005. His heart condition was due to the death of all the members of his family in the tsunami disaster on the 26th December 2004 in Sumatra Indonesia .
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_Indian_Ocean_earthquake
My late Client has a deposit of Nineteen Million Dollars ( US$19 Million Dollars) left behind.
I can be reached on barr.paulanthony@live.com for more information.
Best regards,
Barrister Paul Anthony
Attorney at Law
Phone+2348060829774
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Anti-fraud resources:
