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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:
- "i will like you to " (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "hundred thousand 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)
- "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)
- "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 doreen akumia" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <missdoreenakumia@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 13 Feb 2015 15:57:42 -0800
Subject: Hi
Miss Doreen akumia
Abidjan,ivory coast.
Hello
My name is Doreen Akumia from Abidjan Ivory Coast and I will be 18 years old on the 22nd of November.My father Sir Mark Akumia died in March 2014 after being involved in a motor accident. Before my father died, my mother had earlier died as a result of cancer.
Before my father died in the hospital while taking treatment, he told me that there is Three million two hundred thousand united states dollars(US3,200,000.00) he has in a bank here in Abidjan Cote D'Ivoire.
Please i will like to know if you can be standing as my guardian that i will present to my late father,s bank who i have appointed to handle and manage this money for me.If you accept my request to stand as my guardian I will like you to send to me your name and address which will be what i will be presenting to the bank when i hear from you.
Miss Doreen Akumia
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Anti-fraud resources:
