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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)
- "search for a reliable person" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "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: "Jean Toure" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <jeantoure20008@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2020 00:15:16 +0800
Subject: FROM JEAN TOURE
Dear Friend.
My name is Jean Toure I was the chief driver to Yahya Jammeh the
former Gambian president who is presently in Equatorial Guinea on
exile, I have 20.5 million US dollars deposited as a Family treasure
in a vault of SAFE
KEEPING FINANCIAL INSTITUTION in my name by my former boss waiting to
be claimed.
>From my private search for a reliable person I came across your
contact, I need a sincere investor/partner who can help claim and
invest the money in his country , I will like us to work together on
this particular purpose,
I will be very glad if you take into consideration this transaction
and respond as soon as possible.
I await your positive respond
Regards
Jean Toure
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Anti-fraud resources:
