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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:
- "million 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)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: office <office-----kvv222@att.net>
Reply-To: oj8678@gmail.com
Date: Thu, 24 Mar 2011 14:46:22 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: ATT:Sir/Madam
STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL
I AM THE PERSONAL ASSISTANT TO THE MENTIONED GOVERNOR DR. JAMES IBORI, DURING THE PROBLEM MY MASTER RAN AWAY FROM THE COUNTRY TO DUBAI WHERE HE WAS ARRESTED BY THE GOVERNMENT. AS THE PERSONAL SECURITY I AM ALLOWED TO ENTER HIS PRIVATE ROOMS KEEPING EYES ON ALL HIS BELONGINGS. DURING THIS PROBLEM THE ENTIRE HOUSE WAS EMPTY.I FORCED MY WAY TO HIS PERSONAL BEDROOM WHERE I SAW LARGE AMOUNT OF MONEY. I PACKAGED THE SUM OF 25 MILLION UNITED STATES DOLLARS AND MANAGED TO ESCAPE OUT OF NIGERIA WITH THE MONEY TO A NEARBY COUNTRY CALLED BENIN REPUBLIC, NOW I NEED INTERNATIONAL PARTNER TO INVEST THE MONEY IN OVERSEAS AND I NEED A HONEST PERSON WHO HAVE IDEA ON OIL BUSINESS OR ANY OTHER BETTER INVESTMENT TO INVEST WITH ME. PLEASE IF YOU ARE HONEST AND GOOD WE CAN MOVE THE MONEY TO YOUR COUNTRY SECRETLY, CURRENTLY I AM HIDING OUT FOR SECURITY REASON'S AND I KEPT THE MONEY IN A SAFE SECURITY COMPANY AND REGISTERED IT AS VALUED TREASURE WITHOUT TELLING THEM THE
CONTENT. VIEW THE WEBSITE; http://amairi.org/ibori_loot.html. AS SOON AS I CAN GET YOUR INTEREST IN ASSISTING FOR THE TRANSFER OF THE FUNDS TO YOUR COUNTRY, I WILL GIVE YOU MY PERSONAL TELEPHONE NUMBER SO THAT WE CAN DISCUSS IN DETAILS THE POSSIBLE MEANS OF MOVING THE FUNDS TO YOUR COUNTRY.
YOUR URGENT RESPONSE IS HIGHLY NEEDED.
OLIVIA JAMES
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Anti-fraud resources:
