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:
  • "the consignment " (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)
  • "diplomatic agent" ("diplomats" who perform deliveries of cash or other valuables to you only exist in 419 scams)
  • "abidjan" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
• This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
  
• 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.
  • addresskatrina_valdez80@yahoo.co.uk

Fraud email example:

From: katrina valdez <katrinanet0066@hotmail.fr>
Reply-To: <katrina_valdez80@yahoo.co.uk>
Date: Fri, 6 Jul 2007 17:18:14 +0200
Subject: Good Day



Good Day
I know you may be surprise in getting this message from me due to the fact that you don't know me before.

I decided to contact you with the hope to get a favourable assistance. My name is Madame VALDEZ KATRINA from Philippines nationality.

I lost my husband few years back in a ghastly motor accident.Before his death, he deals on cocoa and coffee business. I inherited the sum of US$ 6.5 Million from him. Presently,

I have a big problem with my husband's brothers because they wanted to confiscate all the wealth and landed properties he left behind.

The above sum was the only thing I was able to secure among all his properties. Because of their pressure and fear that they might discover the existence of this fund,

I quickly put the funds in a box coded and arranged with some diplomatic agents who helped me to send it to Africa, in a security and finance company in Abidjan, Cote D'ivoire where my late husband goes to do his coffee and Cocoa business.

For security reasons, the box was declared as containing family valuables. In this case, the company in Africa does not knothat the exact content of the box was money.

I am sending you this message because I don't have any trust on my husband's brothers and the country where the fund is deposited in Africa is presently in civil war.

This is giving me sleepless nights. I am therefore soliciting for your assistance to help me secure the consignment to your country so that the funds can be invested promptly.

If you agree to help me, we shall negotiate on what will be your compensation for this noble assistance.
After the death of my husband, his brothers started treating me like a prisoner. They forced me to release all his banks information and other important documents.

They did not stop there; they are monitoring my movements till today to extent that I can not go out freely nor answer or make telephone calls. They can only give me foods and shelter and nothing else.

I can understand that with such treatment, their plan is to do away with my life so that they can feel comfortable with what they snatched from me. It is because of this problem that I decided to contact you for a help to rescue me from this ugly situation before I die here.

Apart from this money in Africa, I don't have any other thing in my life and the company charges US$30.00 per a day for safeguarding the consignment till today. My financial situation is completely zero. Upon receipt of your response,

I will send you the contact of the company in Africa so that you can open up communications with them as my foreign partner who wants to help me secure the consignment to your country.You will ask them to send the consignment to directly to your country.

When this is successfully done and the funds under your custody, I will secretly arrange my escape from here to join you so that we can work on the funds investment. I am counting on you to save my life because I have a very serious problem now.


PLEASE KINDLY CONTACT ME THROUGH YOUR PRIVATE EMAILADDRESS TO THIS MY PRIVATE EMAIL ADDRESSkatrina_valdez80@yahoo.co.uk
Sincerely yours,Madame VALDEZ KATRINA.
_________________________________________________________________
Besoin d'un e-mail ? Créez gratuitement un compte Windows Live Hotmail, plus sûr, plus simple et plus complet !
http://www.windowslive.fr/hotmail/default.asp

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam