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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:
- "dear friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- ",000,000" (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: "Mr Patrick Ighomena" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <patrickighomena91@hotmail.com>
Date: Thu, 25 Nov 2010 02:48:32 -0800
Subject: Good Day
Dear friend
I hope this mail eventually reaches you as I have tried without success to get in touch with you to intimate you on a business transaction of mutual benefit.
I sincerely apologize for reaching you through this medium and hope you do not find this message inciting as you have not solicited for this mail. I am Mr. Patrick Ighomena presently residing in London, personal assistant to the former Delta State governor, Nigeria who is now being held for charges bordering on abuse of office during his tenure as the governor of Delta state of the federal republic of Nigeria.
I want to solicit your assistance in the transfer of 25,000,000 GBP presently lodged in a bank in the UK. I shall avail you with more details as soon as I get a response from you indicating your positive stance in assisting me in the transfer of this said fund. I have everything planned out and should you follow my instructions; we shall conclude this transaction within 7 working days. All you need to do is type the name 'IBORI' on any search engine and from the search result; you shall have an ideal of what I am talking about.
Waiting to hear from you.
Kind regards.
Patrick Ighomena
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Anti-fraud resources:
