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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:
- "utmost confidentiality" (scammers urge victims to keep the transaction secret because they don't want anyone to point out to them that it is a scam)
- "is 100% risk-free" (almost true for the criminal trying to scam you - arrests of online criminals are rare)
- "peterwong7@live.com" (this email address has been used in a known scam)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: Peter Wong <peterwong@hst.ghaneli.net>
Reply-To: peterwong7@live.com
Date: Thu, 28 Jun 2012 06:02:12 +0200
Subject: TRANSFER OF US$25.5 MILLION
Good day,
My sincerest apologies for my mode of communication.
I have an urgent Proposal for you. I have a pressing need to transfer a total of 25.5 Million USD deposited in an offshore on-line account belonging to a late client. We Intend to solicit your Assistance with this Transaction on the Assumption that you can handle the transaction in utmost confidentiality and you can receive the funds in your account or any nominated account of your choice.
You will receive 30% of the funds after a successful transfer.
Please note that this transaction is 100% risk-free. If you are interested please reach me on my private email peterwong7@live.com
Thank you.
Mr. Peter Wong.
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Anti-fraud resources:
