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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:
- "% will be for you" (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: Young Choi <choiy0775@gmail.com>
Reply-To: choiy9180@gmail.com
Date: Tue, 3 Jan 2023 11:03:48 +0000
Subject: RE
--
Hello My Good Friend,
My name is Choi Joon, I am a lawyer by profession. I wish to offer
you as the next of kin to my client. You will inherit the sum of £9,649,400
Pounds (Nine Million Six Hundred And Forty-Nine Thousand Four Hundred
British Pound Sterling). My client left the bank before his death in an
auto crash with his wife and only son in 2013.I will be entitled to 50% of
the total fund while 50% will be for you.
Please get back to me for more details.
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Anti-fraud resources:
