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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.
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: Bongo michael <bongomichael5@outlook.fr>
Reply-To: <bongomichael33@yahoo.ca>
Date: Sun, 3 Nov 2013 19:19:18 +0100
Subject: I trust you
My
name is Bongo Michael a banker by profession.
I want us to make a deal if you can trust me as I trust you before making this
contact. There is this $17.3 million USD in our bank which the owner is dead
without any nest of kin. In less that 6 months from now the bank will close the
account and move the money to the government treasury because it has not been
claimed for years as required by the financial laws of the Republic of Cote
D’Ivoire. I want to present you as the nest of kin to the late owner and we shall
share the money 50 by 50 when transferred into your account. Contact me if you
are ready and I will furnish you with the full details.
Michael
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Anti-fraud resources:
