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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:
- "dear friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- 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.
- bojan.limsley@aol.com (AOL; can be used from anywhere worldwide)
Fraud email example:
From: "Mr. Bojan Limsley" <cindy@cgracephoto.com>
Reply-To: <bojan.limsley@aol.com>
Date: Thu, 27 Sep 2012 16:08:37 +0200
Subject: MAIL 27.09.12
Dear Friend,
My name is Mr.Bojan Limsley, an Armenia national. I work as an external auditor
for Bank of United Kingdom. I Work as part of a bigger team that covers the
entire Europe and England region. I have taken pains to find your contact
through personal endeavours.
I wish to discuss with you an issue of immense benefit to us. Your prompt
response will be highly appreciated. Contact me only through my private email
address: bojan.limsley@aol.com
Kind Regards,
Bojan Limsley.
Ernst & Young
E:Limsley@ey.com
http://www.ey.com/
http://www.ey.com/
_____________________________________________________________________
This e-mail originated from the Internet and has been scanned for known viruses
by the Messagelabs SkyScan Service.
***********************************************************************************
This e-mail is intended for the addressee(s) named above and any other use is
prohibited. It may contain confidential information. If you received this e-mail
in error please contact the sender by return e-mail.
Ernst & Young does not accept legal responsibility for the contents of this
message if it has reached you via the Internet, as Internet communications are
not secure. Any opinions expressed are those of the author and are not
necessarily endorsed by Ernst & Young.
Recipients are advised to apply their own virus checks to this message .
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Anti-fraud resources:
