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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.
- This email lists mobile phone numbers. Use of such numbers is typical for scams because they allow criminals to conceal their true location. They can receive calls in an Internet cafe from where they send you emails, while pretending to be in some office.
Fraud email example:
From: "Abdullahi, D.I (CFR) Comptroller-General of Customs" <harrycowell1000@gmail.com>
Reply-To: lukman22jaji@yahoo.com.hk
Date: Wed, 21 May 2014 11:58:52 +0100
Subject: Read Carefully and Reply Asap
--
Hello My Dear Good Friend,
l am looking for genuine trustworthy person who is willing to provide
me a safety bank account for a huge transfer of funds (even an empty
bank account can receive the fund quietly) without any hindrance.
Please bear it in mind that you are not involving your personal money
into transaction because every arrangement for the successful transfer
of the funds has been finally put in places and l have already mapped
out funds for all necessary expenses to be incurred during the
execution of the transfer to your nominated provided bank account
under a legitimate legal arrangement.
Feel free to call me if you are interested on my direct mobile phone
or you can send an SMS +234 (0) 813 556 8094 for more details and
explanation.
Thanks,
Abdullahi, D.I (CFR)
Comptroller-General of Customs
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Anti-fraud resources:
