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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:
- "your urgent reply" (scammers rush victims so they don't have time to think properly)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Mrs Nancy" <accessibility@axongroupio.ch>
Reply-To: hans@hanspetterconsultant.com
Date: Tue, 17 Oct 2023 23:29:54 -0700
Subject: How are you doing dear.
Greetings,
I am Mrs Nancy Anschutz, the wife of Mr. Philip Anschutz the Rail and
petroleum businessman, I have been very sick and got admitted in the
hospital. The doctor advised that I need enough rest to enable my
surgery.
I made deposit of some amount with an undisclosed the bank for
security reasons. My husband nor any member of my know about this
deposit because my marital issue. My wish is to ensure that the said
funds is utilize judiciously to homeless and charity homes through
your helpWaiting for your urgent reply.
Mrs Nancy Anschutz
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Anti-fraud resources:
