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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:
- "await your urgent response" (scammers rush victims so they don't have time to think properly)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
- This email lists mobile phone numbers. Use of such numbers is typical for scams because they allow criminals to conceal their true location. They can receive calls in an Internet cafe from where they send you emails, while pretending to be in some office.
Fraud email example:
From: " patrick lazarus" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <e.lazarus@yandex.com>
Date: Sat, 22 Feb 2014 12:39:02 -0800
Subject: Respectfully,
Hello
My name is Hon. Bruno Sekibo, a Nigerian Civil Servant under the
Ministry of Petroleum. I seek your partnership and assistance for the
Investment of US$27.6million in your country. The fund was originated
from an oil deal involving 4 of my colleagues and myself late last
year.
As Government workers still in office, we are prohibited from getting
involved in foreign transactions as huge as this, that's why I have
contacted you to oversea this transaction. The said fund is presently
secured in a neighboring country Ghana and needs to be transferred
ASAP to avoid diversion.
You stand in for 30% of the total fund at the end of this transaction and
you will also be in charge of whatever the fund will be invested in over
there in your country. I await your urgent response for further details.
Respectfully,
patrick lazarus
+2348170126023
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Anti-fraud resources:
