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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)
- "you will be entitled to 30%" (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)
- "is 100% risk free" (almost true for the criminal trying to scam you - arrests of online criminals are rare)
- "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: "Mrs. Zhang Xiao" <zhangx@qq.com>
Reply-To: c.linyan@hotmail.com
Date: Sun, 18 Jan 2015 21:13:12 +0100
Subject: Only serious individuals needed
Good day,
My Names are Mrs. Zhang Xiao a Chinese citizen based in Asia and an account officer for Angang Steel Company Limited for 18 years. Angang Steel Company Limited deals on Manufacturing of various steel in China and we also have a sales office in Hong Kong. I am in need of a trust worthy person that can help me move funds in the tune of $60,000,000.00 (Sixty 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 100% risk free and you will be entitled to 30% 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,
Mrs. Zhang Xiao
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Anti-fraud resources:
