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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. )
- "joanmorgan1@live.co.uk" (this email address has been used in a known scam)
- This email message is a next of kin scam.
Fraud email example:
From: Joan Morgan <joanmorgan@yahoo.com>
Reply-To: joanmorgan1@live.co.uk
Date: Fri, 24 Feb 2012 13:02:55 -0200
Subject: ATTENTION:
ATTENTION:
On behalf of the Trustees and Executor of the estate of Late
Engineer.Geoffrey Robert. Who died in a car accident with the wife and
only surviving son was my Boss. And i was his secetary,He died living
the sum of Forty Five Million Five Hundred Thousand Dollars (USD$45,
500.000.00) with a security company and i have all files for the
funds. All am seeking for is an assistance to transfer the money away
from there and the percentage ratio will be based on 70:30 percent
ratio If you are interested kindly re-confirm to me your Full Name,
Country and Telephone Number with the
email address below to facilitate further; joanmorgan1@live.co.uk
Regards.
Joan Morgan.
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Anti-fraud resources:
