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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:
- "my direct telephone number" (a "direct line" in a scam usually means an untraceable mobile phone number used by a scammer in an internet cafe, a redirection service number that forwards to a mobile or a free voicemailbox in a different country.)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "jennifer" <jennifer@adalet.gov.tr>
Reply-To: consulationdepartment@gmail.com
Date: Tue, 4 Feb 2014 11:08:01 +0200 (MEST)
Subject: RECONFIRM IMMEDIATELY
DEAR BENEFICIARY.
AFTER A SERIOUS THOUGHT, I DECIDED TO REACH YOU DIRECTLY AND PERSONALLY
BECAUSE I DO NOT HAVE ANYTHING AGAINST YOU BUT YOUR LOCAL PARTNER. I AM
DIRECTOR BANK OF AFRICA AS ENCLOSED. SOMETIME IN THE PAST YOUR PARTNER
APPROACHED ME THROUGH A FRIEND OF MINE WHO WORKS WITH ONE OF THE
MINISTRIES AND REQUESTED THAT I ASSIST THEM TRANSFER YOUR MONEY TO THEIR
ACCOUNT IS THIS ACCEPTABLE BY YOU?
THE REASON I ASK, SO AS TO FINALIZE AND TRANSFER YOUR FUNDS AFTER DUE
OFFICIAL PROTOCOL IS OBSERVED THROUGH UNITED BANK OF AFRICA. IF YOU ARE
NOT INTERESTED THEN DELETE MY EMAIL BUT IF YOU DO I WOULD APPRECIATE
VERBAL DISCUSSION FOR A POSITIVE OPERATION.
I WILL SEND YOU MY DIRECT TELEPHONE NUMBER ONCE I GET YOUR QUICK RESPOND.
WAITING FOR YOUR IMMEDIATE RESPOND.
SINCERELY YOURS,
RITA FRANKLIN.
RECONFIRM IMMEDIATELY
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Anti-fraud resources:
