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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 sir/madam" (a standard Nigerian greeting phrase)
- "foreign exchange" (Banks mentioned in 419 scams are always fake (real banks don't communicate using mobile phones or free webmail addresses))
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Andrea Brown" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <andrea_brown126@consultant.com>
Date: Sat, 18 Feb 2017 07:07:43 -0800
Subject: Re Respond Please Feb-16-2017
Dear Sir/Madam
Your overdue funds is now ready to be released to you, from our records we understand you have paid out so much money in the quest to receive your funds.
Please only respond to this email if you are able and willing to visit or contact our payment clearing center in person to sign all documentation and receive your funds, we cannot afford to misdirect your money to a wrong beneficiary.
I will disclose the amount of the part payment that is due to you
Respond with bellow information:
1)Direct Contact email and phone number
2) Expected Amount (Overdue)
Thanks
Andrea Brown
US Debt Reconciliation Office
Foreign Exchange Director
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Anti-fraud resources:
