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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:
- An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
- 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 pounds" (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.)
- This email message is a next of kin scam.
- Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.
- This email lists free webmail addresses. Use of such addresses is typical for scams. Lotteries, banks and any but the smallest of companies do not normally use such addresses. Criminals use them to anonymously send and receive email at Internet cafes.
- richardthms701@gmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)
Fraud email example:
From: "Barrister Richard Thomas" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <richardthom200@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 26 Jun 2011 20:02:38 -0700
Subject: Business Relationship
Compliments of the day and how are you doing today?
My Name is Barrister Richard Thomas of and personal Attorney to one late (Engr.Isaac Peters) a national of your country, he died when his company
Helicopter crashed on remote Indonesian mountain side on the 10th of October 2005. My late client was the Chief Executive officer of {Asian development Oil Company}
For 25 years.
He was re-contracted as a petroleum consultant to the company before this unfortunate incident occurred. He left all his credentials with my chamber for the drafting
of his new contract agreement that will bind his new contract with Asian Development Company.
Before his death my client made a numbered time (fixed) deposit for twelve calendar months valued at Gbp17.6M.Pounds(SEVENTEEN MILLION SIX HUNDRED THOUSAND Pounds) with The Bank with open beneficiary and No one will ever come forward to claim this fund since his sudden death and according to Malaysian banking law the money will
Revert to the ownership of the Malaysian government if the account owner is certified dead and nobody comes forward to claim it after ten years.
So far the bank has just written my chamber a routine notification to provide the next of kin of my late Isaac peter or have the account confiscated within the next
Seven official working days. This situation is presently giving me a serious concern as to what I should do to
Safeguard this Gbp 17.6M.Pounds SEVENTEEN MILLION SIX HUNDRED THOUSAND Pounds from the bank rules.
I want to present you as the next of kin of the deceased since I don’t want the government to confiscate this fund. You shall retain 40% of the Gbp17.6M.million
Pounds as compensation for your role. Please I want to urge you to view this mail with every sense of responsibility of
Purpose and treat your response with dispatch.
Kindly reply the receipt of this mail through my private email address richardthms701@gmail.com indicating your interest upon your acceptance to assist me in this
Transaction, you should also include below
Full Names;................................................
Contact Address;................................................................
Occupation;.....................................................
Country;................................................
Direct contact phone/fax numbers;..................................
For easy communications with you
Thanks for your anticipated response.
Sincerely yours.
Barrister Richard Thomas
(Attorney at Law)
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