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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 united states 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 "New Partner from Paraguay" scam.
Fraud email example:
From: "Mrs Gladys Mencius" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <mrsgladysmencius@protonmail.com>
Date: Fri, 3 Jul 2020 17:01:56 -0700
Subject: GOOD NEWS
Dearest,
Please accept my apology for not contacting you earlier before now it was due to my tight schedules. I did not forgot your past effort and attempts to assist me, now I'm happy to inform you that I have succeeded in getting those Funds transferred under the co-operation of a new partner from Japan.
Meanwhile, I did not forget your past efforts and attempts to assist me in that process despite that it failed us at that time. Now, Kindly get back to me with your complete contact details so that the vault company in TURKEY where the funds are kept can contacted you with the processing of how your share of the funds can be delivered to you. The total sum of TEN MILLION UNITED STATES DOLLARS will reach you safely as your compensation.
I shall wait to hear from you soon.
Regards,
Mrs Gladys Mencius
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Anti-fraud resources:
