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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:
- The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "god fearing " (scammers in West Africa like to use religious phrases)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Mr. Greg" <dr.gailsen@hotmail.com>
Date: Thu, 19 Mar 2015 23:11:11 +0100
Subject: Hello Dear
Hello Dear
I contact you because we share the same surname,Due to my careful search for an God fearing and honest person I got your contact, I am pleading with you, to assist me distribute some fund which my late wife Deposited as a family/ diplomatic valuables to a finance firm. I will present you as next of kin since my wife is dead and we do not have any child. Before her death she made a vow to use her wealth for the less privileged in the society. I choose to contact you since you share the same surname with me.
Yours Sincerely
Greg
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Anti-fraud resources:
