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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)
- "million 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)
- This email message is a next of kin scam.
- Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.
Fraud email example:
From: ADAMS DAVIDSON <aigadi40@yahoo.com>
Reply-To: ADAMS DAVIDSON <adavson@outlook.com>
Date: Fri, 8 May 2015 11:31:33 +0000 (UTC)
Subject: I Need Trust.
Dear Friend,I am a solicitor at law,personal attorney to Late Mr B. A.,I have contacted you to assist in repatriating the fund valued at USD$4.5 million dollars left behind by my late client before it gets confiscated or declared unserviceable by the Finance Firm where this huge amount were deposited.The Finance Company has issued me a notice to provide the next of kin within 21 days and i have made several attempt to locate my late client relation but to no avail  and right now i cannot achieve it without your support as a foreigner. So if you are interested to assist me achieve the success get back as soon as possible so that i can be able to forward every proofs to you including my identity etc for you to have a relax mind. this is very important if you are interested. My regardsBarrister Adams DavidsonPrincipal Attorney,
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Anti-fraud resources:
