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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:
- "i will advice you " (this email uses bad English)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "James B." (may be fake)
Reply-To: <jamesbjamesb52@yahoo.com>
Date: Thu, 17 Sep 2015 17:40:43 -0700
Subject: From James
Hello,
Could you please contact me urgently by email after reading this mail for an urgent information I want to pass to you concerning a deal in my bank where I work and I want you and I to transact this deal together for our mutual benefit.
We will share 50/50 and there is no risk at all so do not be afraid because I am in control and in charge of the file and I will advice you accordingly as soon as I receive your reply.
If you are interested and willing to transact this deal with me please do indicate by providing me with your confidential telephone number, address and email address to me and I will provide further details and directives.
Please keep this information confidential to avoid my bank knowing about it.
Sincerely yours.
James B
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Anti-fraud resources:
