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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.
- This email message is a next of kin scam.
Fraud email example:
From: "David Baker." (may be fake)
Reply-To: <david.bakerfiles@yahoo.co.uk>
Date: Fri, 3 Aug 2012 12:09:29 +0100
Subject: I need your help in a transaction.
Good day,
I hope this email finds you well and in good spirits? I am Mr. David Baker, bank director
of operations in United Kingdom.
There is a large sum of money lying in my bank I want to strike a deal and move to your Country for our mutual benefits. The money belonged to a customer who died in a plane crash. I have made several private inquiries to locate his next of kin or any of his relatives and this has proved unsuccessful.
I want you to receive the money in your Country for our benefits and investment purposes, and you will be entitled to a percentage of the total sum for your help. I will use my position in the bank as director of operations and move the money to you.
I await your reply and personal details to quickly complete plans and move the money to you.
Regards,
David Baker.
(United Kingdom)
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Anti-fraud resources:
