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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: "Sayidi Omar" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <sayidiomar22@e-mail.ua>
Date: Fri, 4 Nov 2011 11:04:02 -0700
Subject: URGENT REPLY NEEDED..
Dear Sir/Madam
Let me start by introduce myself, I am Mr.Sayidi Omar, BILL AND EXCHANGE MANAGER (United Bank of Africa) Nigeria.
I am writing you this letter based on the latest development at our bank which I will like to bring to your personal edification.($4million transfer claims).This is a legitimate transaction and I agreed to offer you 30% of this money as my foreign partner after confirmation of the fund in your bank account, If you are interested, get back to me.
I will personally finance all the payment including taxes and Bank charges.
Your immediate response needed.
Yours faithful,
Mr.Sayidi Omar.
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Anti-fraud resources:
