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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.
- The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "huge deposit" (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)
- "hundred thousand 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)
- This email message is a next of kin scam.
- 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.
- mikehrr001@yahoo.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)
Fraud email example:
From: Henry Mike <mikehrr001@yahoo.fr>
Date: Mon, 17 Mar 2014 16:52:03 +0100
Subject: Hello
Hello,
I wrote to you before but you did not answer I am Henry Mike an Attorney I
am contacting you to assist in retrieving a huge deposit of a national of
your country herein referred to as my client who worked as a Contractor
with a construction firm here in Lome-Togo.I have contacted you in respect
of his deposit of Six million Five Hundred Thousand United States Dollars
(US$6.5m)with a finance firm before he passed on with his wife and their
only daughter in a ghastly car accident along Aneho in 2011 without leaving
a will or anybody to be presented to the bank as the next of kin of the
fund.Indicate your interest by Writing back directly to my email:(
mikehrr001@yahoo.com) for more details Before its get Confiscated by the
bank.As you write include your phone number.
Best Regards.
Henry Mike
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Anti-fraud resources:
