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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:
- "million us dollars" (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)
- ",000,000" (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)
- "00,000.00" (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)
- "attorneys " (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
- "chief auditor" (the name of a person or institution often appearing 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: Jin Chung <mac_det@hotmail.com>
Reply-To: <jinchung9803@yandex.com>
Date: Tue, 14 Jun 2016 04:38:14 -0400
Subject: Letter
Attention: Sir,
I am the chief auditor of the Wing Hang Bank Ltd Hong Kong working with two trusted associates and in our possession is US$330,000,000.00 (Three Hundred and Thirty Million US Dollars) from an unclaimed deposits/inoperative accounts of a deceased bank customer which hitherto is inactive/inoperative for more than ten years and we have decided to claim the funds rather than declaring it to the Bank/Government since the depositor has no legal heir/nominee in all official documents submitted to the bank.
What we require you to:
(1) We are nominating you as the legal heir/nominee of the deceased with legal documents from the court which our attorneys shall handle from start to finish without any risk associated to you.(2) To assist in the transfer of the aforementioned funds to your bank account with legal documents from the court.(3) Advise on lucrative areas for investment in your country if any.
If you agree on partnership and have the managerial abilities to handle this project, email your Telephone/fax #
Thank you.Jin Chung
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Anti-fraud resources:
