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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:
- The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "deadline" (scammers rush victims so they don't have time to think properly)
- "high court" (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Charles Stanley" <charlesstanley000101@gmail.com> (may be fake)
Date: Tue, 13 Dec 2011 14:00:46 +0530 (IST)
Subject: Graham Robert Update
This is in regard to the pending Graham Robert fund transfer willed to you
for the purpose of charity, I write to inform you that we have again
received a reminder email from the British high court to which we have
written now to advise on the need to ensure you meet with the deadline
date of 20th/12/2011.
The British High court made it clear that if by the deadline date you
still can’t complete the transfer process, they will have no other choice
than to comply with the Graham Robert WILL which states that if the
beneficiary is not able to claim the fund, then it should be confiscated
by the British High court and the fund be used for charity on grounds of
incompetence. To this end I write to inform you of the need to ensure you
complete the transfer procedures of the Graham Robert trust fund latest
20/12/2011, so the fund can be transferred to your account completely.
The British high court to this end has advised that you settle all
outstanding charges pending the completion of this fund transfer since
it’s obvious that is the only delay in this transaction. They really can’t
imagine the fund transfer can be delayed up till this moment due to your
inability to procure the needed charge for the transfer to be successful.
To this end I await your necessary payment for the transfer of the Graham
Robert fund to be successful.
Have a nice day
CHARLES Stanley
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Anti-fraud resources:
