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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:
- "urgent assistance" (scammers rush victims so they don't have time to think properly)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: Fares Chehabi <fhehabi@hotmail.com>
Reply-To: <s005560dv@ovi.com>
Date: Mon, 07 Jul 2014 06:25:02 -0400
Subject: Greetings From Syria!
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Greeting,
Dear, I know my letter will be surprise to you but it was due to the
delicate situation i found myself. My names IS Mr. Fares Chehabi,The
head of chamber and commerce in Aleppo Syria. Reason Im contacting you
is to seek for your urgent assistance to secure my asset in abroad.
I was included in EU sanction list and my Home, Investment and Bank
accounts are now being frozen in Europe and the US and in some Asian
countries, the issue is they want to use sanctions to pry the Sunni and
Christian business elite away from the Alawi partners in the security
state of Syria.
I have some assets in Asia that are under my name and i want you to
help me receive and keep with you. I would want this transaction to be
confidential and i am ready to compensate you accordingly if you can be
able to assist me secure the asset under your name for investment in
your country. I will be waiting for your response as soon as possible.
Regards
Chehabi.
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Anti-fraud resources:
