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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. )
- "cotonou" (a location commonly mentioned 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: "Mrs. Elizabeth Washington" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <elizabethwashington67@yahoo.com>
Date: Sun, 18 Sep 2016 10:42:21 -0700
Subject: the resident doctor will help you
Good day,
Greetings to you, and sorry if this message came to you as a surprise. My name is Mrs. Elizabeth Washington 78years old, a citizen of United Kingdom and a business woman residing in North Carolina, USA. I am a widow and I found your email address through my husband's internet data (late Mr. James F. Washington).
I am presently admitted at the hospital suffering from cancer for more than 2years. I have some funds deposited at a security company in Cotonou Benin Republic which I inherited from my late husband, the amount of four million euros (4.8 Million Euros). I wish to know if I can trust you to use this funds to carry out a charity project on my husbands name because this have been his dream to start up a project on behalf of the less privileged ones before his death.
I do not have the strength to further send emails at the moment but the resident doctor will help you with details on my behalf because every document and information have been given to him just incase i am no more on earth.
I wish you good luck and a wonderful day ahead and contact me through my private e-mail address now (elizabethwashington67@yahoo. com)
Yours in the Lord,
Mrs. Elizabeth Washington
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Anti-fraud resources:
