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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)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Sayid" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <sayialfayed@yahoo.com>
Date: Sat, 21 Jul 2018 13:24:52 -0700
Subject: Can You Please Help
cI am glad to find your contact.
I saw your email address in my late father's diary,I assume you may know my father. I am Sayid Al Fayed. I am 15 years old and the only surviving child of Sheikh Khalid Al Fayed of Syria. President Assad and his evil army murdered my entire family. I survived because my mother sacrificed her life and threw me over the fence. President Assad believes that my father financially supported the Syrian opposition and rebellion against his government.
Now i am in the USA refugee camp. I need your help to invest USD$21Million (Twenty one Million US dollars) Which my late father left in a money market deposit account (MMDA) with the Bank of South East Asia. I am underage and not legal to do any banking transaction on my own.I need you to be my investment guardian and help me invest the money till i am 18 and above.Please do not disclose this message to anyone. President Asaad has his contacts everywhere and will send his evil forces to kill me if they know where I am.I will send you a phone number where you can call me when i receive your reply
Thanks
Sayid
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Anti-fraud resources:
