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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 like you to " (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- This email message is a next of kin scam.
Fraud email example:
From: FROM ANTHONY AND CO <anthonydukeassociates@hotmail.com>
Reply-To: anthonydukeandco@hotmail.com
Date: Fri, 08 Jul 2016 14:59:20 +0300
Subject: Lets Partner Together
--
Anthony & Partners
Advocates & Solicitors
32 Whitfield Street London W1T 2RH
UK.
Good Day,
I am Anthony Duke, an attorney at law. A deceased client of mine, Mr Mark
that shares the same last name as yours died as the result of a
heart-related condition on March 12th 2005. His heart condition was due to
the death of all the members of his family in the tsunami disaster on the
26th December 2004 in Sumatra Indonesia. And in the record there is no
known successor to this deposit of the deceased who died without a will. I
have contacted you to assist in distributing the money left behind before
it is confiscated or declared unserviceable by the bank. The bank has
issued me a notice to contact the next of kin, or the account will be
confiscated. I will like you to acknowledge the receipt of this email as
soon as possible and treat with absolute confidentiality and sincerity. I
look forward to your quick reply
Best regards,
Anthony Duke
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Anti-fraud resources:
