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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:
- "required fee " (this will cost you money - be careful with upfront payments to anyone you only know through email, especially if they promise you a lot of money. NEVER send money by Western Union or MoneyGram to people you do not know personally - NO EXCEPTIONS! Instant wire transfer services are not meant to be used with strangers because they offer no protection against fraud. That is precisely why the criminals want you send money that way. )
- "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 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: Ms Kristalina Georgieva <rshu16661@gmail.com>
Reply-To: mskristalina284@gmail.com
Date: Thu, 15 Sep 2022 21:53:02 +0100
Subject: URGENT ATTENTION!!!,,
A mail was sent to you sometimes last week and earlier this week with
the expectation of having a return mail from you but to my greatest
surprise you never bothered to replied, what is your plans towards the
payment to commence the delivery of your ATM card worth $10.5 million
dollars and this will be my last email to you in next 24thours your
files payment will be cancel and diverted since you fail to submit the
required fee to claim your fund. kindly reconfirm us the following
Details
Full Names____________
Residential Address___
Mobile Number________
Occupation___________
Country______________
i await to hear from you soon
Your Sincerely
Mr Mark Jay
A Secretary to Ms Kristalina Georgieve
The Executive Director Of
International Monetary Fund.
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Anti-fraud resources:
