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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:
- "million 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)
- "your urgent reply" (scammers rush victims so they don't have time to think properly)
- "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: Johnson Iweka <kohrogokabila0010@yahoo.co.jp>
Reply-To: Johnson Iweka <iwekajohnson@yahoo.fr>
Date: Tue, 24 Jun 2014 20:36:26 +0900 (JST)
Subject: CONFIDENTIAL/URGENT DEAL
CONFIDENTIAL/URGENT DEAL
FROM MR. JOHNSON IWEKA
ABIDJAN COTE D'IVOIRE
ATTENTION:
MY
NAME IS MR. JOHNSON IWEKA, A BANKER HERE IN ABIDJAN, COTE D' IVOIRE. I
WANT TO TRANSFER USD $25.5 MILLION DOLLARS BELONGING TO (LATE) MR JOHN
HUGHES WHO WAS AMONG THE VICTIMS HERE DURING THE POLITICAL CRISIS HERE.
YOU CAN PROVIDE A BANK ACCOUNT OF YOUR CHOICE FOR THIS AMOUNT AND ALSO
THE PERCENTAGE YOU WISH TO TAKE FOR YOUR ASSISTANCE.
IF YOU AGREE ON THE TERMS, SEND YOUR DETAIN BELOW INFORMATION:
1. Full Names:
2. Residential Address:
3. MOBILE NUMBER:
4. Fax Number:
5. Occupation:
7. Sex:
8. Age:
9. Nationality:
10. Country:
11. Marital Status:
12. E-mail id:
13. Bank Name:
14. Account Number:
15. Account Holders Name:
16. Bank Branch:
17. Swift code:
18. Your Bank Address
BE
INFORMED THAT YOU SHALL HOLD THE BALANCE OF THE FUNDS ON TRUST AFTER
DEDUCTING YOUR PERCENTAGE, UNTIL I WILL BE ABLE TO JOIN YOU WITH MY
ENTIRE FAMILY FOR INVESTMENT. YOUR URGENT REPLY IS HIGHLY NEEDED FOR
MORE DETAILS.
FAITHFULLY,
MR.JOHNSON IWEKA
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Anti-fraud resources:
