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:
  • "huge deposit" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
  • "abidjan" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
• This email message is a next of kin scam.

Fraud email example:

From: "DIRECTOR FOREIGN OPERATION DEPT UBN." <dfod_ubn@msn.com>
Reply-To: mrvicumahbox@myway.com
Date: Fri, 17 Feb 2006 09:21:02 +0000
Subject: NEXT OF KIN ( RESPONSE NEEDED )

STRICTLT CONFIDENTIAL

Dear Confidant,

My name is Mr. Victor Umah, A Banker with one of the leading banks here in
Abidjan Cote d'Ivoire and the personal accounts manager to Mr. Andreas
Schranner (of blessed memory) was a property consultant to an oil servicing
Company based here in Abidjan Cote Ivoire, My client was involved in the
ill-fated crash of July 25Th. 2000, my client Mr. Andreas Schranner, his
wife Maria, their daughter eich and her husband-Christian and their Two
children perished in the Air France Concorde New York bound flight; please
click here to confirm the incidence:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/859479.stm

Since then I have made several inquiries to locate any of the extended
relatives but has been unsuccessful, hence I contacted you of particular
interest is this huge deposit with our Bank here, where the deceased has an
account valued at about (10 million EURO) The Management of the Bank has
issued a notice last Friday hence none of the relatives could be traced they
are going to declare the account unserviceable And thereby send the funds to
the Government treasury by the end of this month line with after 5yrs. un
serviced account law of the Country.

I want to seek your consent to present you as the next of kin of the
deceased, so that the proceeds of this account valued can be paid to you and
then you and I can share the account proceed, What I require is your honest
cooperation to enable us seeing this deal through, I guarantee that this
will be executed under all legitimate arrangement that will protect you and
I from any breach of the law.

If you can handle this reach me now for further clarification,

Thanking you for your anticipated cooperation,
God bless you and please keep this proposal as confidential,

Mr Victor Umah

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam