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.

Some comments by the Scam-O-Matic about the following email:

• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "is 100% risk free" (almost true for the criminal - arrests of online criminals are rare)
• This email message is a next of kin scam.
• This email lists free webmail addresses. Use of such addresses is typical for scams. Lotteries, banks and any but the smallest of companies do not normally use such addresses. Criminals use them to anonymously send and receive email at Internet cafes.
  • pguei2003@latinmail.com

Fraud email example:

From: "paul guei" <paulguei3@hotmail.com>
Reply-To: pguei2003@latinmail.com
Date: Tue, 25 Oct 2005 09:32:48 +0000
Subject: RE: DEAR SIR, GET BACK TO ME

Dear Sir,

I apologize if the contents hereunder are contrary to your moral ethics, But
please treat it with absolute secrecy and personal courtesy. I am Paul Guei
an Auditor of a Bank here in the Benin Republic, in the the process of
auditing our bank accounts I and one of my colleagues discovered that there
is a dormant account valued at the sum $15,000,000.00 (Fifteen million
united states Dollars) and after due verification of this account we
discovered that the account owner died On the 25th of July 2000, the
deceased, his wife and their two Children died in the Air France concord
plane crash bound for New York in their plan for a world cruise. Below is
the website you can check if need be.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/859479.stm

The idea of presenting somebody who is not related to our deceased customer
to act as his next of kin came into our mind, that is how and why we have
contacted you to present you as his next of kin , so that the $15,000.000.00
will be paid to you and we can both disburse the fund according to the
percentage we will agree on. In view of this, I am seeking for your
co-operation and understanding to stand as the next of kin to our deceased
customer, to enable us claim the fund from my bank. Hence, If this proposal
is OK by you and you do not wish to take undue advantage of my trust, then I
hope to bestow on you.Please kindly get back to me immediately, to enable me
enlighten you on how we are to proceed. On getting your response, we shall
agree on the percentage of disbursing the $15,000,000.00 between us, as we
intend to invest part of our own share in real estate business in your
country, and we would appreciate if you can put us in the right part
investing in your country. I will not contact any person or company until I
hear from you, so as to enable me decide on what to do next. Be rest assured
that this business is 100% risk free. We await for your prompt
response.Strictly reply via: pguei2003@latinmail.com

Regards,

Paul Guei

NB: PLEASE NOTE THAT IT DOES NOT MATTER IF YOU ARE NOT RELATED TO MY LATE
CUSTOMER, THE FUND WILL STILL BE PAID TO YOU, SINCE WE ARE PRESENTING YOU AS
HIS NEXT OF KIN.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam