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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:
- "dear friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "hundred thousand 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)
- "you will be given 30%" (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)
- "andreachriss@live.com" (this email address has been used in a known scam)
- "andreachriss@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.
Fraud email example:
From: "CHRISTOPHER ANDREA" (may be fake)
Date: Fri, 17 Sep 2010 10:45:24 +0200
Subject: ARE YOU WILLING ???
Dear friend,
I represent HSBC bank in Brazil. My name is Christopher Andrea and I am the Personal Accountant to the
organization I have a very sensitive and private offer from the top executive to ask for your partnership
to re-profile some offshore investment funds worth 19.5M U.S.D (Nineteen Million five hundred thousand
United States Dollars) I am constrained however to withhold most of the details for now. This is a legitimate
transaction, if we agree on the terms you will be given 30% of the total funds, If you are interested please
write back via email Providing me your personal details and phone number for further directives.
Please keep this transaction confidential. I look forward to your response. Email: andreachriss@live.com
Best regards,
Christopher Andrea.
Email: andreachriss@live.com
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Anti-fraud resources:
