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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:
- "a security company " (this will cost you money - be careful with upfront payments to anyone you only know through email, especially if they promise you a lot of money. NEVER send money by Western Union or MoneyGram to people you do not know personally - NO EXCEPTIONS! Instant wire transfer services are not meant to be used with strangers because they offer no protection against fraud. That is precisely why the criminals want you send money that way. )
- "might come to you as a surprise" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "consignment " (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)
- "god fearing " (scammers in West Africa like to use religious phrases)
- "remain blessed" (scammers in West Africa like to use religious phrases)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Mag Uva" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <takeit@ua.fm>
Date: Thu, 15 Oct 2015 17:14:26 -0700
Subject: Hello '
Greetings to you.
I believe this mail might come to you as a surprise and the temptation to ignore it as unserious could come into your mind; but please, consider it a sincere wish and accept it with a deep sense of humility. I am Magdalene Uva, I am suffering from esophageal cancer and have undergone series of cancer treatments but to no avail. I am presently in a specialist hospital where i was transferred for some specialist medical attention, but the doctor have declared that the cancer has done so much damage to my system and i have a short time to live, so the world is meaningless to me right now. I have some funds i inherited from my late husband, the sum of ($10.800.000.00) Ten Million U.S Dollars which my late husband deposited in a security company in Channel Islands. I need a very honest and God fearing person who will use this money to help the poor and the less privileged people in the society. You can take 10% of the money for your personal use and spend the rest on the less privileged people in the society. Th
When i hear from you i will give you the contact address of the security company and authorize them to release the deposited consignment to you.
Remain Blessed.
Magdalene Uva.
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Anti-fraud resources:
