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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:
- "will come to you as a surprise" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "abidjan" (a location commonly mentioned 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: Sarah Allbright <sarahallbright01@yahoo.fr>
Reply-To: mrs.sarah4allbrightt@yahoo.fr
Date: Wed, 18 Apr 2012 16:58:53 +0100
Subject: Greetings Dear Lovely Friend
Hi Greetings Dear Lovely Friend
Please I kindly need your help and assistance
I know this mail will come to you as a surprise since we have not known or written before but i pray to Almighty God let this mail meet you in a happy mood . On behalf of myself and my only child Master Salem Jr Allbright . I am contacting you to assist me to transfer the money and the Row Gold Dust which my late husband deposited in a bank here before his untimely death . I am a widow an Ivorian nationality my late husband Mr Salem Allbright was a famous politician and successful business-man whom before he was poisoned during his political party meeting in September 2009 was Cocoa, Gold and Diamond merchant based here in Abidjan, Ivory Coast before he died under a diabolical poison sickness in a private hospital here in Abidjan . He called me and our only child Salem Jr of 7 years old son then and told me that he deposited a sum of ( $18,000 000 US, Dollars) eighteen million United States Of American Dollars and 500 Kilograms of Row Gold Dust in a bank here in Abidjan he dep
Best Regards
Sarah Allbright
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Anti-fraud resources:
