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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:
- An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
- 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:
- "dear friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "million british 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)
- "affidavit " (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
- "@lawyer.com" (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
- This email lists free webmail addresses. Use of such addresses is typical for scams. Lotteries, banks and any but the smallest of companies do not normally use such addresses. Criminals use them to anonymously send and receive email at Internet cafes.
- ngochan@lawyer.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)
Fraud email example:
From: Ms. Ngoc Han <ngochan@mynet.com>
Reply-To: ngochan1126@yahoo.com
Date: Fri, 6 Jul 2012 13:11:59 +0100 (BST)
Subject: please reply for details
Dear Friend,
This is all about an opportunity to claim a deposit made by my late client who
i have done all things within my powers to link up with his family or
relatives without success.
It is rather unfortunate that the bank has contacted me severally over
presenting them with a next of kin to the deposit and now my inability to
present them anyone means they senior bank officials will share the funds
among themselves.
Like i said, i know the system here and everything will work out well as long
as it remains between me and you.
My main reason for choosing you for this is your last name which is the same
with my late client.
I have made several inquiries and all we need to do is to obtain an affidavit
from the law court here confirming you as the relative of the dead man. We
will then go to the ministry of finance to get a letter of clarification
before applying to the bank for the release.
I am here to move around and get all the relevant documents.
You will need to provide me with the following details;
1. Your full names
2. Age
3. Occupation
4. Nationality
5. Marital status
6. Direct Telephone number
7. A copy of your identity possibly your international passport
Enclosed here in the attachments are copies of my international passport and
my national identity.
Finally, the amount involved is Three Million British Pounds (£3m) and you
will be entitled to 40% of the total funds at the end of the transaction.
Please go ahead and ask questions if you have any before we proceed.
You must know that if we do not claim this fund, the senior bank workers will
share it among themselves.
I will be waiting to hear from you as soon as possible.
Thanks,
Ngoc Han
Email: ngochan@lawyer.com
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