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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:
- "might come to you as a surprise" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "there is no risk involved" (almost true for the criminal trying to scam you - arrests of online criminals are rare)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: Sanjay Joshi <newuser@dbigku.com>
Reply-To: sj7329013@gmail.com
Date: Tue, 03 Mar 2020 08:19:13 -0600
Subject: Business proposal
--
I know this might come to you as a surprise but i write to seek your
assistance
in handling a business/ investment that needs to be carried out in
India.
I am an Indian American based in the US and have been here for over 2
decades.
there is a business transaction which i need to carry out in India, but
Due to some
restrictions i cannot handle this myself and need someone in India to
handle this.
the investment/fund is valued over two hundred and fifty crore.
there is no risk involved and everything is verifiable and you will not
face any issues
during the process this is a legitimate business
This will not disturb you from your normal work and it comes with a very
huge profit.
Please let me know if you are interested and i will give you details.
Regards,
Sanjay Joshi
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Anti-fraud resources:
