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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:
- "million united states 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)
- "very confidential" (scammers urge victims to keep the transaction secret because they don't want anyone to point out to them that it is a scam)
- "abidjan" (a location commonly mentioned 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: "Miss.Catalina Johnson" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <catalina.johnson283@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, 3 Jan 2015 03:06:52 -0800
Subject: Sponsorship Investment.
My Dear
I'm Catalina I'm from Abidjan is the economic capital of Ivory Coast and is the most populated West African French-speaking city but i left the country when the war started because my father got killed as a minister of aviation with the government then so the country was been a bit uncomfortable for me and my mom considering the fact the targets by opposition were people involved with the present government so we relocated to a nearby country called Togo still in west Africa,
Where Mom remarried some other man now and for me I'm just trying to finish up my studies with my little job here as a sales rep in a shop here. never the less i have a very confidential financial transaction of Six Million United States Dollars between my late dad and one MRS Oils, an International oil and gas firm operating here in Togo which i can explain to you in full details on your response to my very first email I just have to wait on your response do have a pleasant week ahead
Regards
Catalina Johnson
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Anti-fraud resources:
