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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:
- An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
- 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:
- "dear friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "is 100% risk free" (almost true for the criminal trying to scam you - arrests of online criminals are rare)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
- This email lists free webmail addresses. Use of such addresses is typical for scams. Lotteries, banks and any but the smallest of companies do not normally use such addresses. Criminals use them to anonymously send and receive email at Internet cafes.
- georgebami72@gmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)
Fraud email example:
From: Micheal Pelebi <michealpelebi@gmail.com>
Reply-To: georgebami72@gmail.com
Date: Sun, 16 Nov 2014 01:22:38 +0200
Subject: THIS IS GOOD FOR US
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Dear Friend,
I work in Major Bank in my country my position allows to Arrange for the
transfer of a huge volume of funds standing dormant in an account is a huge
amount belonging to a late client who shares the same surname with you. I
need your assistance as a foreign partner to claim these funds. Title
documents will be issued in your name as the beneficiary and next of kin to
enable you make claim to the funds, It is 100% risk free. Your role is
needed as this has to be done with a foreigner. If you are interested
kindly reply to my private email: georgebami72@gmail.com with your
complete details and phone numbers so I can explain more details to you.
Regards
George Bami
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Anti-fraud resources:
