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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:
- "million us 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)
- "united state of america" (this email uses bad English)
- "barrister" (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
- "@lawyer.com" (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
- Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.
- 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.
- barwilson01@lawyer.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)
Fraud email example:
From: "Hon.Barrister Wilson Esq" <hbwesq001@yahoo.pt>
Reply-To: "Hon.Barrister Wilson Esq" <hbwesq59@outlook.fr>
Date: Mon, 8 Dec 2014 13:21:54 +0000 (UTC)
Subject: I expect your soonest respond.
Hello Dear,
I am Barrister Wilson P.Hart an advocate/lawyer to my late client here in my country Republic of Benin. When my late client was alive, I was managing and protecting some of his investment as one of the foreigner who came to our country to invest his money into business and also he was a contractor here in our country during the period he exists.
I contact you for both of us to have this deal as our personal affair and also agree on my condition before I present you to bank as next of kin to my late client because I have been searching to locate my late client relative in his country but till this moment I did not find who proof sincerity on my late client.
And after going through your profile I decide to contact you so that I and you will claim my late client remaining balance of Seventeen Million Two Hundred Thousand United State of America dollars ($17.2million us dollars)
only.
And before my late client confirm as dead person he left some of his documents that contain properties in my advocate/lawyer chamber office. I want both of us to agree on percentage range before we continue because I am respectable man here in my country and I will not want anything to bring problem between me and my partner in this deal.
I accepted to give you 50% while mine is 50% and if you are interested try to get back to me immediately so that I will forward to you further details on how we can proceed to claim this fund from bank so that my late client bank director will transfer the complete fund straight to your country then I will start coming to meet you in your country to have my percentage rate.
I expect your soonest respond.
Please get back to me on this my private email address (barwilson01@lawyer.com) for more details.
Thanks,
Barrister Wilson P.Hart
Direct line:+22961638159
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Anti-fraud resources:
