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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:
- "consignment " (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)
- "high court" (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
- "federal high court" (This court is often mentioned in '419' scams to give the victim a reason why he/she should send thousands of dollars to the scammers. A 'Federal High Court' exists in Germany and Nigeria, but not in other countries, such as the UK, Spain, Netherlands, Senegal, Benin, South Africa or other countries where fake lawyers in scams often claim to be based. )
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "PROF. JUSTICE ANDREW" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <prof.j.andrew@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 14 Jun 2011 14:41:48 -0500
Subject: YOU ARE HERE BY CALL TO JUSTICE FROM THE FEDERAL HIGH COURT.
ATTENTION.....
YOU ARE HERE BY CALL TO JUSTICE FROM THE FEDERAL HIGH COURT. WE HAVE A NOTE RIGHT IN FRONT OF US THAT YOU ARE HAVING SOMETHING TO
DO WITH SOME INTERNET SPAMMERS ALL IN THE NAME OF THE (FBI, BANKNOTE, EFCC ,COMPENSATION AWARD HOUSE AND SOME ORDER SCAM EMAIL)
AND THAT YOU ARE ALSO HAVING SOMETHING TO DO WITH SOME SPAMMERS IN AFRICA ABOUT A CONSIGNMENT AND MONEY.
WE GOT THE NOTE ON OUR DESK THIS MORNING FROM THE INSPECTOR GENERAL OF HEAD INTERNET SECURITY (GEN. DANIEL DOHERTY) WHO HAS BEEN
MONITORING ALL YOUR EMAIL FROM THERE DATA BASE.
YOU ARE ASK TO STOP ALL CONTACT YOU HAVE BEEN IN SO FAR WITH ANY OF THOSE SO CALLED SPAMMERS OR ELSE YOU WILL HAVE YOURSELF TO
BLAME. AND ONCE AGAIN YOU ARE TO CONTACT US BACK WITH ALL THAT HAS BEEN GIVEN TO YOU BY THOSE SPAMMERS TO HASTEN US OUR
INVESTIGATION ON WHO IS BEHIND ALL THIS AND WHO HAVE BEEN DEALING WITH YOU BECAUSE OF YOUR MONEY ..
NOTE: YOU ARE ASKED TO GET BACK AS SOON AS POSSIBLE OR WE WILL HAVE TO INFORM THE FBI TO COME AND PICK YOU UP IN YOUR ADDRESS AND
YOUR CASE WILL BE WORST IF YOU DON’T COOPERATE WITH US TO GET THOSE SPAMMERS RED HANDED THAT IS WHY WE EMAIL YOU TO KNOW MORE
DETAILS FIRST BECAUSE THAT IS THE EASIEST WAY TO MEET OUR GOOD CITIZEN’S.
SO YOU ARE TO GET BACK TO US IN NO TIME BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE FOR YOU.... MORE SO YOU ARE TO PROVIDE US ALL NECESSARY DETAILS AND WE WILL
INFORM YOU IF TRULY THERE IS ANY CONSIGNMENT FOR YOU AT ALL... OUR DUTIES IS TO PROTECT ALL OUR CITIZEN AND KEEP THEM AWAY FROM ANY
HARM OR WHATSOEVER DAMAGE THEY ARE....
WE WERE TOLD THAT YOU HAVE BEEN SCAMMED MANY TIMES AND YOU STILL KEEP ON COMPLYING WITH THOSE SCAMMER , I WILL URGE YOU TO FAST
AND GET BACK TO THIS DEPARTMENT WITH THOSE SCAMMED MAIL.
I WANT YOU TO PUT YOUR ATTENTION AND EFFORT ON GETTING THOSE SCAMMER AND AFTER THAT WE WILL DIRECT YOU TO WERE YOUR FUNDS IS BEEN
KEPT JUST FOR SECURITY PURPOSE.
SO GET IN TOUCH NOW! OR YOUR NAME WILL BE LISTED AMONG THOSE TO BE PERSECUTED BY THE LAW (SCAM ACTIVITIES)....
GET BACK TO US WITH THE REQUESTED DETAILS
BEST REGARDS,
PROF. JUSTICE ANDREW
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