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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)
- "i am using this medium to " (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "my names are " (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "offshore account" (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: "Owunila Lubi" <info@evententries.com>
Reply-To: owunila@gmail.com
Date: Sun, 07 Oct 2018 07:12:54 -0700
Subject: Re: Dear Friend
Dear Friend, My names are Owunila Lubi, I make this contact with the hope t=
hat I can trust you to assist me secure funds of my principal deposited in =
an offshore account. The content of this mail are expressed in clear confid=
ence and solely for your personal consideration. My principal instructed me=
to make sure that this fund deposited in an offshore security company is r=
etrieved ASAP using a discreet foreigner to facilitate clearance of the dep=
osit. Therefore I am using this medium to request for your assistance in tr=
ansferring ownership of the sum of $35m safely secured in an offshore secur=
ity firm. I need your cooperation to transfer ownership of this fund to you=
for our joint investment benefits. He has proposed to take 50% of the fund=
, give you 40% and 10% for my coordination. I assure you that this transact=
ion is totally free from any risk. I will brief you more on receipt of your=
reply. The essence of quick attention is based on his present travails wit=
h the authorities hence he does not want to another such information that w=
ill escalate the present dicey situation. Please let me have following deta=
ils as an indication of your willingness to co-operate with me in the trans=
action. Your full names: Residential/office address: Business: Age and Mari=
tal status: Your private/Hand telephone: Please indicate your most private =
email address that is only accessed by you to avoid divulging information t=
o another person Yours sincerely Owunila Lubi
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Anti-fraud resources:
