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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:
- "there is no risk involved" (almost true for the criminal trying to scam you - arrests of online criminals are rare)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "JEFF MARTHINS" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <jeffmarthins92@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 18 May 2015 10:08:20 -0700
Subject: YOUR PAYMENT
Dear Sir.
I am Engr.Jeff Marthins, the operation general manager GAS division Napims attached with Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
I have a deal of US$45.3 million that needs to be transferred into a bank account of your choice for funding real estate investment.with my share (55%),
You are entitled to 35% from the total amount while 10% has been mapped out to take care of any expenses we will incur to process the payment.
This deal is an over invoiced contract sum when the Gas Plant was built of which it was under my capacity and complete supervision. The actual contract amount has already been paid to the contractor, I need your help to join me work it out together for our mutual benefit.
There is no risk involved. You will be detailed as soon as you indicate your interest and willingness.
As a civil servant our work ethics demands that we do not have any account abroad. And my effort to keep this deal highly confidential and secret between us.
Await your response.
Regards,
Engr.Jeff Marthins
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Anti-fraud resources:
