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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:
- "my names are " (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Lucas" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <lucasfred29@yahoo.co.uk>
Date: Wed, 22 Feb 2012 23:22:20 -0800
Subject: Very Confidential
Fred Lucas
Phone: 011447586719605
Fax: 011442031631984
20/02/2012
Confidential & Urgent Business Proposal
Dearest,
How are you doing today. l saw your profile while searching for a good businessmen or women on the internet and I felt I should relate this business opportunity to you. My Names are Fred Lucas, We have a wealthy investor from Europe who is currently looking for an avenue to make a
Discreet investment of US$50Million currently in our custody.
Our client is a member of a crumbling government in Europe and so needs this investment urgently done to safeguard the future of his family in case of unfavorable outcome in his country’s financial meltdown . He is willing to invest the fund in exchange for seven percent yearly interest for a maximum duration of five years without collateral. However, he will require a corporate equity or original documentation of the proposed investment to safeguard his fund in case of default. If you are interested, kindly contact me through our details above.
Thanks
Yours truly,
Fred Lucas
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Anti-fraud resources:
