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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:
- 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.
- This email lists free webmail addresses. Use of such addresses is typical for scams. Lotteries, banks and any but the smallest of companies do not normally use such addresses. Criminals use them to anonymously send and receive email at Internet cafes.
- peterjoe212@hotmail.com (Hotmail; can be used from anywhere worldwide)
Fraud email example:
From: pet52joe@gmail.com
Date: Thu, 10 Dec 2020 13:00:00 +0000
Subject: Mr. Peter Joe
Untitled form
To fill it out, visit:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe1evqiwxiUZ-CSWW6vn8nX08hersWDMtQP9xBjWWAU81NBsA/viewform?vc
Dear Friend,
I am Peter Joe Banker from Togo in West Africa. I have a Business proposal
of US$7.5 Million for you. The fund belongs to our deceased customer who
died with his next of kin leaving nobody for the claim. I want to present
you as his next of kin to my bank so that the fund will be transferred to
your bank account. Your share will be 50% while 50% will be for me. No risk
involved in this transaction. If you are interested, Contact me for full
detail/procedure. Please Contact me in private email address
(peterjoe212@hotmail.com)
Mr. Peter Joe
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