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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:
- "dormant account" (Banks mentioned in 419 scams are always fake (real banks don't communicate using mobile phones or free webmail addresses))
- "thwalaronald@yahoo.co.za" (this email address has been used in a known scam)
- This email message is a next of kin scam.
Fraud email example:
From: "Thwala Ronald" <ronaldthwala2020@gmail.com>
Reply-To: thwalaronald@yahoo.co.za
Date: Thu, 3 Apr 2014 18:50:34 -0400
Subject: Partnership Proposal
Hello,
I am making this partnership proposal to you in strict confidence. I am
writing following an opportunity in my office that will be of immense
benefit to both of us. I am a manager in one of the leading banks in my
country South Africa. In the branch that I managed I discovered an
abandoned large sum of money (US$15.2Million) in a dormant account
belonging to one of our foreign clients.
My findings revealed that the original owner of the account is dead. Since
the death of the owner long ago the account has been dormant and nobody
has come forward to claim the funds. I also discover that the deceased has
known next of kin according to the bank records.
Since I have all necessary information needed to claim the funds, can I
present you as the heir to the deceased before the bank? Your physical
presence here is not a priority as all the claim procedures will be done
through a proxy. If you would like to work with me to claim the funds,
then indicate your interest after which we shall both discuss the
modalities and the sharing percentage. I will appreciate if you could
contact me through my direct email address: thwalaronald@yahoo.co.za to
register your interest.
I urge you to send me the following information (full name, phone number,
age and country) to enable me start the process.
Looking forward to a good business relationship with you,
Mr. Ronald Thwala.
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Anti-fraud resources:
