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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:
- "million united states 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)
- "@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.
- justine.alexanderchamber@lawyer.com (Outblaze.com, Hong Kong; can be used from anywhere worldwide)
- reply through my lawyer's email address: justine.alexanderchamber@lawyer.com or through my private (Lawyer; can be used from anywhere worldwide)
Fraud email example:
From: Mrs Hajiya Maria Assef Shawkat <cbmbf.rescueteam@gmail.com>
Reply-To: hajiyamariaassefshawkat@yahoo.com
Date: Thu, 16 Jan 2014 16:16:06 +0100
Subject: Dear Friend
I am Hajiya Maria Assef Shawkat, wife of the late President Bashar
al-Assad's brother-in-Law, General Assef Shawkat who was killed by a
bomb attack in Damascus, Aleppo on 18 July,2012 which the violence
caused hundreds of thousands to flee their homes as refugees of the
Syria Civil war. I have in my possession USD25m(Twenty five Million
United States Dollars only) currently in a coded financial
institution, which I now intend to use to establish a profitable
business venture in your country to enable me and my family start life
all over again. I want to invest the US$25M in your company/country
and you will be my guide. I will give you more details upon your
response.
Reply through my Lawyer's email address: justine.alexanderchamber@lawyer.com
or through my private email:hajiyamariaassefshawkat@yahoo.com
Best Regards,
Mrs Hajiya Maria Assef Shawkat
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Anti-fraud resources:
