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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 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 next of kin scam.
Fraud email example:
From: Francois Petit <officeagentma@gmail.com>
Reply-To: pfrancois202@gmail.com
Date: Fri, 26 Mar 2021 10:37:29 -0700
Subject: GREETINGS DEAR FRIEND!!
GREETINGS DEAR FRIEND!!
I'm Francois Petit working with Societe Generale Bank here in France. I
sincerely seek to present you as the Next of Kin to a late client who left
behind $145.5 million dollars in a fixed deposit account in my bank before
his demise.
The British born client was into Diamond and Gold mining and died without a
Next of Kin. I shall obtain the legal documents that will give you legal
rights to make this claim legitimately. I am willing to share the funds
60/40 with you and this shall be completed within 72 hours. With the legal
documents, the bank will approve you as the Next of Kin and pay out this
amount to you within three working days. I considered the funds would be of
better use to both of us instead of letting the bank or some corrupt
politician confiscate the funds.
Kindly get back to me as soon as possible with your full name, address,
direct contact number and occupation for the processing of
the legal documents if you are interested and can be trusted to return my
own share when you have received the funds in your bank account.
More information shall be given to you once I hear from you. I put it to
you that this is probably going to be the best decision you ever make in
your life.
However, if you are not interested in the offer, kindly delete this message
from your mailbox and pretend that I never contacted you. I'll continue my
search for a reliable person that will help out.
Best Wishes,
Francois Petit
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Anti-fraud resources:
