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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)
- This email message is a next of kin scam.
Fraud email example:
From: Martis Duncan <tjacobforeal02@gmail.com>
Reply-To: martduncan002@gmail.com
Date: Mon, 24 Aug 2020 02:49:05 -0700
Subject: Urgent Attention Needed
My Dear Friend
An earlier e-mail was sent to you without a reply.
I am Mr.Martis Duncan an accountant to Mr.Robert a native of your
country who died in diamond mine ground collapse.
My client was an expatriate/engineer with Mining industry.
I am happy to inform you that after several attempts to locate my
Client relatives/family members, I found you bearing the same family
name with my client.
I will like us to discuss about my client finances and estate worth
$4.650,000 USD with us.
My client account is presently dormant and his funds will be recovered
by the government because he died intestate and since then nobody has
ever come for the funds. I need your services to receive these funds
under legal arrangements as I have all the details intact to ensure a
risk free transfer.
I am seeking your consent to present you as the next of kin of my
client so that the proceeds of this account can be paid to you for the
safety and subsequent disbursement since the funds were left behind
without any written will or next of kin details. If you are willing to
assist let me know for more details
Yours Faithfully,
Mr.Martis Duncan
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Anti-fraud resources:
