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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:
- "dear friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "barr." (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
- "samuelagbala@hosanna.net" (this email address has been used in a known scam)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Samuel" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <samuelagbala@hosanna.net>
Date: Thu, 20 May 2010 11:36:44 +0100
Subject: Transfer
Dear Friend,
Good day.
I have some information for you about your unpaid fund, the people you are
dealing with is not the original bank, why can't you deal with the bank
instead of sending money to people to help you get your fund, I have their
Direct Contact Information and I can direct you to the proper office/Bank
where you can get paid than to be wasting your time and money.
And just bear it in mind that all this money you have been sending would
have completed your payment transmission before now. Email me back only on
this email samuelagbala@hosanna.net
Waiting to hear from you if you needed my assistance.
Regards,
Barr. Samuel Agbala
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Anti-fraud resources:
