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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:
- "barrister" (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
- Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.
Fraud email example:
From: "DANSO PHILIP.Q" <dansophilipqesq@hotmail.co.uk>
Reply-To: dansophilipqesq@hotmail.com
Date: Tue, 05 Nov 2013 07:51:09 -0500
Subject: 05/11/2013
To Whom It May Concern:
I am a Barrister, Solicitor and Financial Advocate based in the Republic of Ghana. West Africa. I Hold on Trusts the sum of US$68million as a Trustee. I was appointed to act as a Trustee on the aforementioned Funds by my Client (Now Late) I have Hold on Trusts the amount in question for more than 5years and the Trust Agreement signed with my Late Client gave me all the Power to transfer the funds to any Beneficiary as deemed necessary. This is the time for me to find a trusted beneficiary I can transfer the funds to based on the Power confide on me as Trustee and as contained in the Trusts Agreement. If you are interested, our sharing ratio will be 50/50 and more details will be sent to you for your consideration. Kindly send me your telephone numbers while responding to this email.
Yours Truly,
Mr.D.Philip.Q,Esq.
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Anti-fraud resources:
