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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:
- "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. )
- "limphostewart@yahoo.cn" (this email address has been used in a known scam)
- This email message is a "dying widow" scam.
Fraud email example:
From: "Mrs L. Stewart" <info123@cxcddhhaecom.com>
Reply-To: "Mrs L. Stewart" <limphostewart@yahoo.cn>
Date: Sun, 03 Jul 2011 15:07:44 -0400
Subject: =?US-ASCII?B?aW1wb3J0YW50IGluZm9ybWF0aW9uIHRvIHlvdQ==?=
my name is Limpho Stewart
undergoing treatment in Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital,
Johannesburg S.Africa. i am married to dr. Earl Stewart who worked with british
judical commission in UK.we were married for
15 years without a child. before
he died in 2006,he vowed to use his wealth for the poor.he kept 3.5m GBP
with a security company in europe.This sum is still with the company
now.recently, my doctor told me that
i may not live 4 months due to a rare form of cancer of the pancreas and
stroke.i have decided to donate this
funds to a godly person who will use it as my husband wished.
please respond to my email.[ limphostewart@yahoo.cn ]
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Anti-fraud resources:
