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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)
- "a security company " (this will cost you money - be careful with upfront payments to anyone you only know through email, especially if they promise you a lot of money. NEVER send money by Western Union or MoneyGram to people you do not know personally - NO EXCEPTIONS! Instant wire transfer services are not meant to be used with strangers because they offer no protection against fraud. That is precisely why the criminals want you send money that way. )
- "the consignment" (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)
- "consignment " (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)
- "million united state 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)
- "united state dollar" (this email uses bad English)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Prince martins" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <princemartinsjohnson@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 14 Mar 2011 08:01:50 -0000
Subject: Request !
Dear Friend,
I am Prince Martins Johnson from sierra Leone requesting your assistance for me to come to your country with my inheritance one consignment box containing 25,million united state dollars pure dollar bills and raw diamond stones deposited with a security company by my (FATHER).My Father is a king and the president of Diamond miner’s in my community but he is late now.
I have a little problem at the security company,i am 17 years of age and my Father had entered an agreement with the Security company that should the sudden occurrence of his death before its claim,the security company should not released the box to me unless I am 21 years of age but my foreign beneficiary. The security company will have the consignment box delivered to you and i am ready to offer you 30% of the $25,million and the opportunity to invest my share in your country as i will like to leave with you to further my education.I have all the documents.
Yours sincerely,
Prince Martins Johnson.
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Anti-fraud resources:
