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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:
- An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
- 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 "dying widow" 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.
- mellissagaddafi@hotmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)
Fraud email example:
From: <uk@office705.onmicrosoft.com>
Reply-To: <mellissagaddafi@hotmail.com>
Date: Fri, 1 Nov 2013 15:26:47 +0530
Subject: SEND YOUR CV/RESUME.
God Bless You as You Devote Your Time Reading This Mail.
I am Mrs. Melissa Muammar Gaddhafi, suffering from cancerous ailment.
I was married to Mr. Benson Muammar Gaddhafi, my husband worked with
Chevron/Texaco in the United Kingdom for twenty years before he died in the
year 2001. My late husband deposited the sum of $8.5 Million (Eight Million
Five Hundred Thousand Dollars) with a Bank in United Kingdom.
Recently, I am in India for the past two months undergoing treatment and my
doctor told me that I have limited days to live due to the stroke and cancerous
problems I am suffering from. I have decided to donate this fund to charity
home through you and want you to use my husband’s effort to fund the upkeep of
widows and charities worldwide.
I took this decision because I do not have any child that will inherit this
money and my husband relatives are bourgeois and very wealthy persons and I do
not want my husband hard earned money to be misused so In this faith I have
decided so please be obliged to do this for God as I await your urgent reply.
Via my email address: mellissagaddafi@hotmail.com
With God all things are possible.
Mrs. Melissa Muammar Gaddhafi.
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Anti-fraud resources:
