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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:
- "dear friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "urgent assistance" (scammers rush victims so they don't have time to think properly)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: Abdul Hassan <abh96296@gmail.com>
Reply-To: Abdul Hassan <abhh02000@hotmail.com>
Date: Thu, 5 Feb 2015 07:18:43 +0000 (UTC)
Subject: Good day
Dear Friend
I need your urgent assistance to facilitate a deal.We have a payment which emanated from the payment of subsidy on kerosene (DPK) petroleum product.
The sum value is (US$8.25 Million) and it is ready to be released immediately.
Unfortunately, the position I occupy here in government in my Country does not allow us to operate any foreign account.
I want to seek your permission and assistance in partnership, so that the money can be paid directly to you as beneficiary on our behalf. Your share shall be 25%.
As we anticipate your consent, please email to me your names and telephone number, so we can discuss more and I shall email to you more information.
Regards,
Abdul Hassan
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Anti-fraud resources:
