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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)
- "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)
- "chambers" (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Dr Gao Shen"
<kanephils@gmail.com>
Reply-To: "Dr Gao Shen"
<jamesmilner054@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 14 Apr 2015 14:29:34 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: BANK OF CHINA PROJECT
Dear Friend,
I am making this contact with you based on reliable information available to me courtesy of business index and confirmed by our local chambers of commerce and industry concerning your reputation. Thus I am convinced you would be capable to provide me with a solution to a money transfer transaction of One hundred and Twenty Eight million, Four Hundred Thousand United States Dollars.
Toward the end of my service with Bank of China where I worked for many years, several of my colleagues and I set up companies with which we successfully secured loans for speculation in Hong Kong and Singapore stocks and real estate. Due to our positions as being involved with the initial investigation, we cannot receive this money by ourselves or in our names at this time. I will like to seek your assistance and cooperation.
Best regards, and God bless
Dr Gao Shen.
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Anti-fraud resources:
