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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:
- "million us 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)
- "hundred thousand us 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)
- "your loan " (Beware of fake loan offers. Real lenders would not normally use free webmail addresses such as Yahoo, nor would they lend to individuals or small businesses in a different country from where they are based. Beware of mobile phones or redirector numbers!)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Prudent Finance Investment" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <ulticham03@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 11 May 2023 18:21:58 -0700
Subject: DO YOU NEED A LOAN FOR YOUR BUSINESS?....
Dear sir,
We are a loan company in the USA. We give out loans to companies, businessmen and women who are into legitimate business. Our loan is without collateral. We give small business loans, medium business loans and long term business loans, these loans range from Five Hundred Thousand US Dollars to Fifty Million US Dollars.
Our loan repayment period is from one to Fifteen years. Your loan will be processed in three to four working days after we have received your information for the processing of the loan in your name and to enable us credit your account after the approval of the loan. Our loan interest rate is very good. Let us know if we may help you.
Yours faithfully,
Mr. Daniel Moore
Prudent Finance Investment.
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Anti-fraud resources:
