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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:
- ",000,000" (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)
- "00,000.00" (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)
- "my names are " (a common phrase found 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: "Thaung Lin Yan" <thaung.yan7@gmail.com>
Reply-To: thaung.lin@blumail.org
Date: Tue, 16 Dec 2014 21:32:35 -0800
Subject: HELLO
*This message was transferred with a trial version of CommuniGate(r) Pro*
Good day,
My Names are Thaung Lin Yan a Canadian citizen based in Asia
and an account officer Manager for Wei Gu Steel Company for 23
years. Wei Gu Steel deals on Manufacturing of various steel in
Hong Kong and we also have a sales office in China. I am in
need of a trust worthy person that can help me move funds in
the tune of $250,000,000.00 (Two Hundred and Fifty Million
USD).
Our company will be folding up very soon and I need to move
the above mentioned funds out of the companies account to a
secured bank. This is 150% risk free and you will be entitled
to 20% of the total funds upon completion. If interested
please get back to me stating so for more details. Also
provide me with the details below asap.
1. Full Names
2. Address
3. Country
4. Age
5. Telephone Numbers
6. Occupation
Please note only serious individuals needed.
Yours Sincerely.
Thaung Lin Yan
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Anti-fraud resources:
