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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:
- "huge amount of money" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
- "million pounds" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "G. Edward." (may be fake)
Reply-To: <mrgedward@hotmail.com>
Date: Fri, 16 Mar 2012 18:14:21 +0100
Subject: Your assistance to make transfer.
Dear,
My name is Mr. G. Edward, a senior staff and head of computing department of my bank.
I have only written to seek your assistance to make a transfer involving a huge amount of money about Six Million pounds.
I am proposing to make this transfer to a nominated bank account of your choice. I propose an offer of 30% of the total amount after the transfer have been successfully concluded.
Kindly reply me stating your interest and I will furnish you with the details and necessary steps which we will use to make this transfer.
I need the following information to process the claims application in your name:
1. Your full names
2. Your address, Phone and fax numbers
I await your response so as for us to proceed with the transaction.
Best regards
G. Edward.
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Anti-fraud resources:
