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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)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: PATRICIA WALKER <paulokofu7@gmail.com>
Reply-To: paul_okofu1@yahoo.es
Date: Mon, 11 May 2015 03:14:49 -0700
Subject: INVESTMENT ADVICE
--
Dear friend,
I was a private /special investment adviser to a late business mogul;
a foreign contractor and investor . I decided to make this investment
offer to you with regards
to my plan to invest upward of $14.5m USD in real estate and other
ventures in your location you may advise. This originated as over cost
proceeds from government MOD
and oil related contracts few years and was kept in a secret
investment deposit before he died.
Being in a better position to front a beneficiary, I decided to
contact you because the deceased (a widower) had no child, so it is
possible for me to present you as
the beneficiary backed by legal document. He had mandated me prior to
his death to find a good businessman to work with and invest the funds
judiciously for benefit of
mankind. Your commission will be 40% of the total funds for your
participation . If you consider yourself trust worthy and capable of
working with me to invest these
funds into lucrative ventures which can bring about 10% AROI, do first
email me your particulars as soon as possible to the below email
addresses . Please send me a
fax if email is not received or replied on time.
Details to send include the following:
1. Full Names and Address:
2. Direct Working phone lines:
3. Company name (if any) or Occupation:
4. MARITAL STATUS:
6. AGE:
7. Your receiving BANK NAME:
I look forward to building a fruitful and better future with you to
help us help others.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Patricia Walker
103 Wilkinson Avenue, Little Lever
Bolton - BL3 1QP United Kingdom
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Anti-fraud resources:
