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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:
- "is 100% risk free" (almost true for the criminal trying to scam you - arrests of online criminals are rare)
- "dormant account" (Banks mentioned in 419 scams are always fake (real banks don't communicate using mobile phones or free webmail addresses))
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: Daniel Ndoye <vincentubani282@gmail.com>
Reply-To: fcr23893@gmail.com
Date: Thu, 6 Apr 2023 23:09:38 +0000
Subject: -Call For More Discussion
h)
We have an inheritance in custody linked to your names.
Would you be interested in handling a good deal worth more than
Millions of dollars?
Please Permit to tell you that this transaction is 100% risk free,
I am a banker and during our periodic audits last we discovered
dormant accounts with holding balances.
I hope you will cooperate with me as a partner in a project of
transferring an abandoned fund.
Am confident that it will be of great benefit to both of us. How we'll
realize this fund. Please contact me via below with your details.
Full Name and Address
Occupation
Country of Origin
Cellphone Number
Regards.
Daniel Ndoye
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Anti-fraud resources:
