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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: "U.S. Department of Treasury" <townclerk@townofbecket.org>
Reply-To: consultant.wecare@email.cz
Date: Mon, 03 Apr 2023 00:27:38 +0200
Subject: ATTENTION PLEASE!
Take note that you're the one delaying yourself to receive your
pending payment.
be informed that all pending payment in this office will be cancelled
on 5th of April 2023.
Your Total Funds were included since you're unable to submit
the service handler charge.
We will immediately start the process to facilitate your funds release
as soon as you comply
with the service handler charge which the cost is $155 only.
You are advised to keep your communication code confidential (VV*601)
until your grant is processed
and remitted to you.
your response is needed ASAP.
John Edward
chief Financial officer
U.S. Department of Treasury.
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Anti-fraud resources:
