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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:
- An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
- 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 us 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)
- ",000,000" (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)
- "00,000.00" (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)
- "is 100% risk free" (almost true for the criminal trying to scam you - arrests of online criminals are rare)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
- 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.
- drdrayhamiltonllm@gmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)
Fraud email example:
From: Dr Gary Hamilton <inforcodewestern@gmail.com>
Reply-To: drdrayhamiltonllm@gmail.com
Date: Sun, 6 Feb 2022 02:39:00 +0000
Subject: URGENT
Hello Dear
My name is Dr. Garry Hamilton, a United State lawyer. I have
previously sent you a message regarding a transaction worth Twenty
Million US Dollars (US$20,000,000.00) left by my late client before
his tragic death. I am contacting you once again because after going
through your profile, I strongly believe that you will be in a better
position to execute this business transaction with me.
Please if you are interested, I wish to point out that after the
transaction I want 10% of this money to be donated among charity
organizations while the remaining 90% will be shared equal by the both
of us. This transaction is 100% risk free; please respond to me as
soon as possible for more detailed information.
Kindest Regards
Dr. Garry Hamilton LL.M
drdrayhamiltonllm@gmail.com
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Anti-fraud resources:
