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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)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Mrs. Maryam" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <n.h_org@usa.com>
Date: Wed, 1 Aug 2012 10:35:44 -0400
Subject: Call for Charity. (Bel voor het goede doel)
Good day,
My name is Mrs. Maryam Abdul-Nasser, widow from Kuwait. Recently, my doctor told me that I would die in the next 3 months because of my illness with cancer.
But I have 17.6 million dollars (17.6 million dollars) in the bank in England.
I was married to the late Dr. Hassan Abdul-Nasser, who died in the year 2000. He was a crude oil businessman in the former Soviet Union and South America. We were married for 18 years without children. Since 2004 I have been diagnosed with cancer and fibroid. So I developed a hearing problem as a result of drug reactions.
I want you to help me invest this sum of money to charity in your COUNTRY in order to improve humanity and the less fortunate. I accept this decision because I do not have a child who will inherit this money..
If you are ready to help provide the following:
Full names:
Your Address:
Phone:
Date of birth:
With the above information, I'll tell you how to get the money to charity work for the glory of God Almighty.
I am waiting for your email.
God bless
Maryam.
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Anti-fraud resources:
