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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 fake company names, fake addresses, non-existent institutions/documents or other details have appeared in scams before:
- The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "hundred thousand united state 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)
- "united state dollar" (this email uses bad English)
- "diplomatic delivery" ("diplomats" who perform deliveries of cash or other valuables to you only exist in 419 scams)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Mr. James" <test@comstar.ru>
Reply-To: barrjudebrian@gmail.com
Date: Thu, 13 Apr 2023 03:58:05 -0700
Subject: Your funds.
Dear Beneficiary:
This is SPEED-POST International Delivery Company,we wish to
officially inform you that The United Nations in conjunction with
the IMF, has generally announced that the innocent individuals
that has been scammed in any way should receive a scam victim
compensation fund worth the sum of Four Million Five Hundred
Thousand United state dollars($4.5M US) as to compensate them by
diplomatic delivery to avoid online impostors and we have been
mandated to handle the delivery.
Please we need you to confirm your valid information to us to
enable us proceed with the delivery of the fund to your address.
Beneficiaries Full Names....
Beneficiaries Address....
Beneficiaries Tel.....
Occupation..............
Nearest Airport to you.....
We will register your package for safety delivery of your package
as soon as you reconfirm the required information needed for safety
delivery to your residential address in your Country.
SPEED-POST brand has been known for some yeas and we are best at
doing what we do better to make our name known by the world with the help
of this means and also keeping security for customers and their
sensitive information seriously.
Yours affectionately.
Mr.James Clark.
Dispatch Manager.
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Anti-fraud resources:
