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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:
- The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- ",500,000" (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)
- "00,000.00" (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)
- "abidjan" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: Kevin Morgan <kevin_44morgan@yahoo.co.jp>
Date: Tue, 11 Mar 2014 03:09:04 +0900 (JST)
Subject: Dear Respectful One
Dear Respectful One,
It is my pleasure to acquaint you with this
proposal for the purpose of investment in your company. I am kevin and
my younger sister called linda Morgan of the same parents from
Sierre-Leone country. our late father was a Gold and Diamond merchant
based in Freetown Sierra-Leone. As a result of the political instability
of Sierra-Leone, my late father came to Abidjan Cote D’Ivoire with the
sum of USD12,500,000.000(US$12.5m) which he deposited in a Financial and
Security Institution here in Abidjan Cote D’Ivoire West Africa for
security reasons I am here seeking for an avenue to transfer this money
to a reliable and trustworthy individual for investment programmes.We
are here as a refugee because of the political crisis in our Country
Sierra Leone. Please I would offer you 20% of the total sum of USD12.5m
for your assistance. Please we need to transfer this money urgently
because delay would not help at all and we need to relocate based on the
political instability in this sub-region, to enable us continue our
education because i was medical student before the sudden of our father.
Your immediate response would be appreciated.
Best Regards
Kevin and Linda.
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Anti-fraud resources:
