joewein.de LLC fighting spam and scams on the Internet

Try our spam filter! Free trial for 30 days

"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

• About the 419 (Advance Fee) scam
• "Is that email a scam?" - Check it online here!
  
• Frequently asked Questions (419 FAQ)
• Phone numbers used by 419 scammers
  (+225 +229 +234 +27 +31 +32 +34 +44 other)
• Company names mentioned in 419 spam:
  1 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
• Support our efforts to stop scams!
  
• How to report 419 spam to us
• What can you do when you receive 419 spam
  
  
• Spam archive, Daily index
  

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.

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.

Fraud email example:

From: "ingrid smith" <ingridsmith22@hotmail.com>
Date: Mon, 01 Nov 2004 21:51:44 -0800
Subject: URGENT AND CONFIDENTIAL

DEAR FRIEND,

I GOT YOUR NAME IN MY SEARCH FOR A FORIEGN PARTNER WHO WILL HELP US, AS I
AND MY MOTHER STATUS AS REFUGEES CANNOT ALLOW US TO TRANSFER MONEY. PLEASE
ACCEPT MY APOLOGY IF THIS EMAIL IS EMBARASING AS YOU DONT KNOW ME. I AND MY
MOTHER ARE IN NEED OF URGENT ASSISTANCE.
I AM MR INGRID SMITH, SON OF LATE, JOHN SMITH, FROM RWANDA WHOM UNTIL HIS
DEATH WAS LEAVING WITH HIS FAMILY HERE IN SOUTH AFRICA BECAUSE HE WAS SENT
TO EXILE BY THE GOVERNMENT OF RWANDA OVER DISAGREEMENT OF A POLICY IMPOSE ON
HIS PEOPLE, HE LOVED HIS PEOPLE AND WAS WELL LOVED BY HIS CONSTITUENCY.HE
HAS ALSO LIVED AS A PHILATROPIST IN HIS "WILL" HE HAS DEPOSITED A
$30,000.000(THIRTY MILLION US DOLLAR) IN AN ABSA BANK (ALMAGAMATED BANK OF
SOUTH AFRICA) HERE IN SOUTH AFRICA AND HAS ASKED ME AND MY MOTHER TO START
LIFE. WITH IT SHOULD WE GO BACK TO OUR COUNTRY? BUT WE HAVE DECIDED NOT TO
GO BACK TO RWANDA OUR COUNTRY BECAUSE WE DO NOT KNOW WHAT'S LYING AHEAD.
INSTEAD, WE WANT TO INVEST THE MONEY IN A FOREIGN COUNTRY UNDER THE
SUPERVISION OF A WELL-TRUSTED PERSON.
WE ARE HERE AS REFUGGEE AND OUR STATUS DOES NOT ALLOW US TO STAND FOR THE
TRANSFER OF THIS MONEY, I WANT YOU TO STAND AS THE BENEFICIARY OF THIS FUND
WITH THE HELP OF MY FATHER’S ATTORNEY. THIS TRANSFER IS 100% RISK FREE.NOTE
THAT FOR YOUR TIME AND HELP, 25% OF THIS FUND IS YOURS AND 5% OF THE FUND IS
FOR ANY EXPENSES INCURED BOTH LOCALLY AND INTERNATIONALLY IN THE COURSE OF
THIS TRANSFER AND THE REMAINNING 70% IS FOR ME AND MY MOTHER TO ENABLE US
START UP BUSINESS IN YOUR COUNTRY WITH YOUR SUPPORT.WHEN YOU REPLY I WILL
TELL YOU THINGS YOU NEED TO DO. THANKS FOR YOUR UNDERSTANDING. CONTACT PHONE
NUMBER +27-73-134-4080

MR INGRID SMITH
(ON BEHALF OF THE FAMILY)

NB: REPLY WITH YOUR PRIVATE TELEPHONE NUMBER

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam