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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:
- "is 100% risk free" (almost true for the criminal trying to scam you - arrests of online criminals are rare)
- "dormant account" (Banks mentioned in 419 scams are always fake (real banks don't communicate using mobile phones or free webmail addresses))
- This email message is a next of kin scam.
Fraud email example:
From: name nicholas <rossellini.nicholas@live.com>
Date: Tue, 17 Jun 2014 07:35:22 +0000
Subject: Financial Issue
I have a proposal for you - this however is not mandatory nor will I in any manner compel you to honor against your will. I am a Banker and Based in United Kingdom.In Our Branch they exist a dormant account for the past 12 years which belongs to an American national an Oil Merchant and a Media Mogul who is now late with the wife They died on Egypt Air Flight http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/502503.stm
They had no child till death.When I discovered that there had been no deposits nor withdrawals from this account for this long period, I decided to carry out a system investigation and discovered that non of the family members nor relations of the late person is aware of this account.This is the story in a nutshell. Now I want to insert your name as a business partner/next of kin to the late customer in our files, so that you can comfortably apply for claim of the funds.Thereafter, I had planned to destroy all related documents to this account. It is a careful network and for the past>eleven months I have worked out everything to ensure a hitch free operation.The amount is not so much at the moment and plus all the accumulated interest the balance in this account stands at-(GBP35.5M).
Now My questions are:-
1. Can you handle this project?
2. Can I give you this trust?
3. What will be your commission If you can sponsor this transfer. Consider this and get back to me as soon as possible.
Finally, it is my humble prayer that the information as contained herein be accorded the necessary attention, urgency as well as the secrecy it deserves. I Expect your urgent response if you can handle this project.I want to assure you that this transaction is 100% Risk Free.
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Anti-fraud resources:
