joewein.de LLC fighting spam and scams on the Internet

Try our spam filter! Free trial for 30 days

"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

• About the 419 (Advance Fee) scam
• "Is that email a scam?" - Check it online here!
  
• Frequently asked Questions (419 FAQ)
• Phone numbers used by 419 scammers
  (+225 +229 +234 +27 +31 +32 +34 +44 other)
• Company names mentioned in 419 spam:
  1 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
• Support our efforts to stop scams!
  
• How to report 419 spam to us
• What can you do when you receive 419 spam
  
  
• Spam archive, Daily index
  

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.

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:

• An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "dear friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "hundred thousand united states 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)
  • "is 100% risk free" (almost true for the criminal - arrests of online criminals are rare)
  • "i have a new email address!" (this SPAM email was probably sent to thousands of people)
• This email message is a next of kin scam.
• This email lists free webmail addresses. Use of such addresses is typical for scams. Lotteries, banks and any but the smallest of companies do not normally use such addresses. Criminals use them to anonymously send and receive email at Internet cafes.
  • bmensaahh@yahoo.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)
  • bmensah1@yahoo.com.au

Fraud email example:

From: (sent from abused email account)
Reply-To: bmensahh@yahoo.com
Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2008 19:12:25 -0800 (PST)
Subject: from mr ben mensah


I have a new email address!You can now email me at: bmensaahh@yahoo.com



- From Mr.Ben Mensah.The Manager Foreign Operation Department of Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB)Ltd.Dear Friend,Forgive my indignation if this message comes to you as a surprise as we don’t know ourselves before, and may offend your personality for contacting you without your prior consent and writing through this channel.I am Mr.Ben Mensah,The Manager Foreign Operation Department Of Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB) Ltd In Republic Of Ghana.In mydepartment i discovered an abandoned sum of (USD 11.5M) eleven million five hundred thousand United States Dollars in an account that belongs to one of our foreign customer from your country who have the same last name with you,he died along with his entire family in a plane crash in Republic of Benin on Dec. 26, 2003 without any reference to the trace of the relatives or next of kin.In accordance with the West African Trust and Federal Laws,if such money remained unclaimed after 6 (six) years without nobody applies as the relatives or next o kin,the money will be transfered into the Bank treasury account as unclaimed fund. I now decided to contact you and present you to stand and proved a foreign bank account for release and transfer of the money into your bank account as the next of kin or relation to the deceased since nobody is coming for the claim.I agree that 45 % of this money will be for you as foreign partner,in respect to the provision of a foreign account, 5 % will be set aside for expenses incured during the business and 50 % would be for me.I assure you that this business is 100% risk free to both of Us from any breach of the law.If this proposal is acceptable to you, kindly indicate your full Interest by send to me as below:Your Full Name:.................Your Contact Home Address:..........Your Country:..........Your Occupation:..........Your Contact Phone Number:........Gender:..................Your Age:.......Your Nationality:......Note that I will instruct you on the next step to take.reply me on bmensah1@yahoo.com.au or call me on + or 00 233 244 983685 Best respect,Mr.Ben Mensah.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam