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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:
- "i am using this medium to " (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "my names are " (a common phrase found 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: "Emad Awad" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <effawad@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 26 Dec 2018 03:35:01 +0800
Subject: Re: Trust you to assist me.
Attention:
I am Egyptian, My names are Emad Fahmy Farag Awad, I make this contact with the hope that I can trust you to assist me secure funds which is deposited in an offshore security firm. The content of this mail are expressed in clear confidence and solely for your personal consideration.
I want you to make sure that this fund deposited in an offshore security company in Europe is retrieved ASAP due to the fact that i am having problems with the Dubai authorities and i will be behind bar for 10 years. Therefore I am using this medium to request for your assistance in transferring ownership and claim of the sum of $30M safely secured in an offshore security firm to you.
I need your cooperation to transfer ownership of this fund to you for our joint investment benefits. 40% will be given to you for your assistance. I assure you that this transaction is totally free from any risk. I will brief you more on receipt of your reply.
Yours sincerely,
Emad Fahmy Farag Awad
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Anti-fraud resources:
