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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:
- "million dollars" (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)
- "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: ammed abacha <ammedacha1@yahoo.fr>
Reply-To: ammedacha30@yahoo.com
Date: Tue, 1 May 2012 17:39:45 +0100 (BST)
Subject: I SEEK FOR YOUR GOOD FRIENDSHIP.
I SEEK FOR YOUR GOOD FRIENDSHIP.
HOW ARE YOU MY DEAR, I AM MOHAMMED ABACHA,FROM NIGERIA, I NEED YOUR HELP TO ENABLE ME SEND MY FULL DETAILS FOR URGENT TRANSFER TOTAL SUM OF $7.5 MILLION TO YOUR POSITION.THIS MONEY WAS DEPOSITED IN AMSTERDAM THE NETHERLAND WHEN MY FATHER LATER GENERAL SANI ABACHA THE FORMER PRESIDENT OF NIGERIA WAS ALIVE.
AFTER DEATH OF MY FATHER,NIGERIA GOVERNMENT ARRESTED ME AND COLLECTED ALL MY FATHER INVESTMENT HERE IN NIGERIA,UNFORTUNATELY FOR US,THE PRESENT GOVERNMENT DID NOT KNOW ABOUT THIS CASH BECAUSE THE DOCUMENTS WAS WITH MY FAMILY LAWYER.
I SEEK FOR YOUR HELP TO HAND OVER THIS MONEY TO YOU SO THAT YOU CAN AS WELL HELP US TO INVEST THE MONEY ON YOUR NAME FOR MY FAMILY.
I WILL GIVE YOU DETAILS ON HOW YOU SHOULD RECEIVE IT ON BEHALF OF MY FAMILY ONCE YOU ASSURED SAFETY OF THIS FUND ON YOUR POSITION.WE NEED YOUR ASSISTANCE TO ADVISE WHERE WE CAN INVEST THIS FUND IN YOUR COUNTRY ONCE YOU RECEIVE THE FUND.
PLEASE SEND YOUR FULL RESIDENT ADDRESS WITH YOUR PHONE NUMBER.I WISH TO VISIT YOU AS SOON AS YOU RECEIVE OUR FUND.
I AM MY FAMILY HAS MADE UP OUR MIND TO GIVE YOU 20% OF THIS TOTAL SUM OF $7.5 MILLION DOLLARS WHILE THE REMAINING BALANCE OF 80% WILL BE KEPT FOR US UNTIL WHEN I COME.
YOURS.
MOHAMMED ABACHA.
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