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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 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)
- "diplomatic agent" ("diplomats" who perform deliveries of cash or other valuables to you only exist in 419 scams)
- "high court" (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
- "federal high court" (This court is often mentioned in '419' scams to give the victim a reason why he/she should send thousands of dollars to the scammers. A 'Federal High Court' exists in Germany and Nigeria, but not in other countries, such as the UK, Spain, Netherlands, Senegal, Benin, South Africa or other countries where fake lawyers in scams often claim to be based. )
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: Rian Rolfe <go469085@gmail.com>
Reply-To: rianrolfnsh@gmail.com
Date: Wed, 26 Jan 2022 10:32:24 -0800
Subject: Good news
--
I want to let you know that your PACKAGE worth$7.3 million Dollars is
currently in Atlanta Georgia International Airport in USA. The custom
authority demanded for the International permit certificate of your
PACKAGE which I didn't found in your PACKAGE. I did an inquiries
consigning this issue and I was directed to Federal high court. So I
contacted the federal high court for the certificate, they demanded
that you must pay a sum of $150 before they can issue me the
certificate on your behalf. So you are advised to get it now and send
the money so that they can obtain the certificate and send the copy to
me so that the custom authority here will allow me to proceed for the
delivery.
I wait your response
Regards
Diplomatic Agent Rian Rolfe
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Anti-fraud resources:
