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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:
- "dear friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "dormant account" (Banks mentioned in 419 scams are always fake (real banks don't communicate using mobile phones or free webmail addresses))
- "davidamara01@outlook.com" (this email address has been used in a known scam)
- "davidamara01@outlook.com" (this email address has been used in a known scam)
- This email message is a next of kin scam.
Fraud email example:
From: David Amara <moorand14@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 26 May 2014 17:58:15 +0000
Subject: hello
Dear friend,
I sent you a mail a couple of days ago over a lucrative business
transaction that will be of great benefit for both of us but haven’t
heard from you since then.
I am Auditor General in Bank Atlantic Ltd Togo, in West Africa, on my
recent routine inspection as auditor general I discovered a dormant
account with a deposit of ($12.7 Million USD) owned by a foreign
disease customer without beneficiary or next of kin legally declare in
his account document in my position.
I write to seek your indulgence and assistance in transferring this
fund to your country account through legal means. I can't do the
transfer all alone without the assistance of a foreigner so I will
present you as the next of kin and you’ll receive 45% of the total sum
after the transaction is completed.
Get back to me as soon as possible through my private email address
(davidamara01@outlook.com) if you can handle it for more details.
I wait for your urgent response.
Regards,
Dr. David Amara
davidamara01@outlook.com
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Anti-fraud resources:
