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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.
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: Michael Skirl <honeyebere@gmail.com>
Reply-To: officialmail@mail.lv
Date: Fri, 10 Mar 2023 14:03:16 -0800
Subject: YOUR URGENT ATTENTION IS NEEDED
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Hello
You have been referred to us through an online platform in regards to
procuring funds (Loan)through the IMF (International Monetary Fund).
We work closely with the office of Mr. Bo Li who is the Deputy
Managing Director of the IMF.
Our firm has access to funds available from the IMF and we can assist
you in securing funds for your business. Please let us know the amount
that you require and provide as much information about your business
as possible. We are able to secure funds up to US$30 million and above
for your business.
If you have a business plan, executive summary, deck or prospectus
that would help also. Funds can either be provided to you as a grant
or low interest loan to your business. We will assist you with
completing all the documentation and forms required.
We await your response.
Michael Skirl
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Anti-fraud resources:
