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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:
- "a security company " (this will cost you money - be careful with upfront payments to anyone you only know through email, especially if they promise you a lot of money. NEVER send money by Western Union or MoneyGram to people you do not know personally - NO EXCEPTIONS! Instant wire transfer services are not meant to be used with strangers because they offer no protection against fraud. That is precisely why the criminals want you send money that way. )
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Dr. George T Kofi" <billyh0545@gmail.com>
Reply-To: drgeorgekofi@yahoo.com
Date: Sat, 20 Sep 2014 03:19:29 +0100
Subject: Greetings From Dr. George T Kofi
How are you doing!
My name is Dr. George T Kofi from Ghana working at MEDIFEM HOSPITAL, i am
soliciting on behalf of a little girl of 10 years of age who's father was
killed in a terrorist/rebel attack that happened months ago in South
Sudan.The father is from Cayman Island but living in Ghana as a business
man but he traveled to South Sudan for business where he was affected in an
attack
by those Sudan rebels.
I seek your help to adopt the little girl, she needs parental support as
she wishes to further her education outside Africa according to her
statement also her late father left some fund in a security company for her
which i can hand it over to you for her future support. All we need is to
process the adoption papers.
I will give further details upon your respond and your willingness to
adopt/help the little girl.
Thanks and God Bless You
Regards,
Dr. George
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Anti-fraud resources:
