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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:
- "dear friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "million 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)
- "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: David Robinson <mukabalogun001tg@gmail.com>
Reply-To: daverobinson13575@gmail.com
Date: Wed, 24 Aug 2016 23:53:02 -0700
Subject: Read and Reply!
--
Dear Friend,
Please, kindly take your time to understand the contents of this
message. I am contacting you for an important and confidential matter
in reference to one of our bank customers.
I am a banker and currently holds the position of Chief Auditor in our
bank. I have the ability to transfer unclaimed funds of (6.2 million
dollars) that belongs to one of our late customers who died along with
his family and no one has come to claim the funds. If left unclaimed,
will be transferred to the state treasury account. I am now faced with
decision about who to pass the fortune to. However, I don't belong to
that school of thought which proposes that the fortunes of unlucky
people be given to the government. I therefore seek your assistance in
presenting you as next of Kin to the deceased so that we can inherit
the fund he left behind for us to share. I promise you 50% as a
percentage of the fund. Upon hearing from you, I will give you
comprehensive details about this transaction and how we can handle it
together. I wait for your quick reply on this. Contact me back for
more details and also get back to me with the following information:
Full Name:
AGE:
COUNTRY:
Phone:
Address:
Occupation:
Your Private email:
With best wishes,
David Robinson
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