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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 sir/madam" (a standard Nigerian greeting phrase)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Al-Suhaybi Abdullah Saleh" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <abdullahsaleh@w.cn>
Date: Sun, 17 Jul 2011 23:39:53 -0700
Subject: Al-Suhaybi Abdullah Saleh from Yemen.
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am Al-Suhaybi Abdullah Saleh the third son of Ali Abdullah Saleh the president of Yemen. If you have been following international media stations you may have heard or seen the uprising in Yemen and some other Arab Nations. You may have also heard about the attempt on the life of my father which forced my father and some of my family members to go on exile to Saudi Arabia but I am in a hide out in my country.
I am contacting you because I am in dire need of your help. Though you are a stranger, I will have to confide in you and just pray you will be honest and matured to help me at this point in time. All our assets are either being frozen now or seized and as I write you, I live on the physical cash in my possession which I am sure will soon finish because I pay a whole lot of security aides and spies. My major aim is to escape to another place other than Saudi Arabia where I can disguise my self and live a private life.
My family has large deposit of United States of American Dollars kept in a reputable finance house in Manama capital of Arab Republic of Bahrain. I have the deposit documents with me and the terms of deposit specify that the deposit is transferable. The sum is quite large and I am ready to offer you a tangible percentage of the fund if you will accept to receive the fund and invest it wisely in your country.
As a result of my predicament which means I am under intense surveillance, I can only call you or contact you by email and you cannot call me. If I am convinced about you I shall give you the details of the finance house executive director in Manama capital of Bahrain who you will work with. Provide me with your direct telephone number and if possible I will advise that you open a new email address for our conversation.
Your urgent response will be highly appreciated.
Sincerely,
Al-Suhaybi Abdullah Saleh
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