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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:
- "your urgent reply" (scammers rush victims so they don't have time to think properly)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: Michelle Howard <sandragodwinthyl@gmail.com>
Reply-To: michellehoward181@outlook.com
Date: Tue, 29 Dec 2015 12:14:02 +0000
Subject: How are you doing !!
How are you doing !!
With believe all is well with you? My name is Michelle Howard. I'm 52 years
old a American soldier working as United Nations peace keeping troop in
Iraq, on war against terrorism. I have in my possession the sum of $5.8
millions USD Which i found here in Iraq. I deposited this money with a Red
Cross agent because of the law of UN. I want you to stand as my beneficiary
to receive the fund and keep it safe because i don't trust Red Cross agent.
I want you to help me keep the money save in your account so that as soon
as am through with my mission here in Iraq, I will come over to you for us
to meet face to face and know each other. I will give you 30% of the total
money for your assistance after you have receive the money. please reply
back to me if you are willing to work with me. I will send you more
information and the possibility of receiving the money without any problem
Your urgent reply is highly needed.
Best Regards
Michelle Howard
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Anti-fraud resources:
