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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:
- "is 100% risk free" (almost true for the criminal trying to scam you - arrests of online criminals are rare)
- "sani abacha" (the name of a person or institution often appearing 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: DAVID KHOL <khol.david@yahoo.com.ph>
Reply-To: kholdavi@yahoo.com
Date: Thu, 15 Mar 2012 18:38:42 +0800 (SGT)
Subject: Hello
DEAR,
MY NAME IS DAVID KHOL A HOUSE HELP TO THE LATE HEAD OF STATE,FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA GENERAL SANI ABACHA WHO DIED SINCE 8TH OF JUNE 1998 AS A RESULT OF HEART ATTACK.
PLEASE KINDLY KEEP THIS MATTER CONFIDENTIAL WHEN I LEARNT A BOUT HIS DEAD I ENTERED HIS ROOM MOVE A BOX THAT CONTAIN $25MILLION USD, AND DEPOSITE IT WITH INTERNATIONAL FINANCE AND SECURITY COMPANY ACCRA GHANA HEAD OFFICE AS A FAMILY TREATURE.
I NEED YOUR ASSISTANCE TO MOVE THIS MONEY OUT OF AFRICA TO ANY COUNTRY OF YOUR CHOICE WHERE IT WILL BE INVESTED INTO A PROFITABLE BUSINESS .I NEED YOUR INFORMATION WITH PHONE NUMBER.
AS SOON AS I RECIEVE YOUR INFORMATION MY FINANCIAL CONSULTANT WILL PROCEED TO THE SECURITY COMPANY TO MAKE SOME CHANGES ON YOUR BEHALF AS THE OWNER OF THE FUND AND SEND THE DOCUMENTS TO YOU ,ETC.
I WILL GIVE YOU 30% OF THE TOTAL FUND.THIS IS 100% RISK FREE.FEEL FREE TO ASK ME QUESTIONS.
AM EXPECTING YOUR RESPONSE.
DAVID
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Anti-fraud resources:
