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 fake company names, fake addresses, non-existent institutions/documents or other details have appeared in scams before:
  • "first national bank" (not involved with lotteries)
• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "you will be given 30%" (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)
• This email message is a next of kin scam.

Fraud email example:

From: paul george <paul.george.107@hotmail.com>
Reply-To: <paulgeorge_4@yahoo.co.uk>
Date: Fri, 6 Jul 2007 21:57:50 +0200
Subject: From Paul George



Hello, Before I introduce myself, I wish to inform you that this letter is not a hoax mail and I urge you to treat it serious. We want to transfer to an overseas account, (20,000.000.00 GBP, Twenty million Great Britain Pounds) from a prime Bank here in southafrica. I want to ask you, if you are not capable, to quietly look for a reliable and honest person who will be capable and fit to provide either an existing bank account or to set up a new Bank a/c immediately to receive this money, even an empty a/c can serve to receive this money, as long as you will remain honest to me till the end of this important business i am trusting in you and believing in God that you will never let me down either now or in future. I am paul george, presently promoted to Auditor General in First National Bank Southafrica, during our last auditoria meeting we found out that there is an account that is lying dormant for so many years and we have investigated on it and found out that the owner of the account by the name of Mr Thomas Stone From Columbus, Ohio, who died with his family in a plane crash on 1st November 1999 and since then we couldn't find any of the relations, he died without living any will that is why we contacted you for assistance and at the conclusion of this business, you will be given 30% of the total amount, 70% will be for us. PLEASE, TREAT THIS PROPOSAL AS TOP SECRET. Please do get back to me if you are interested so that i will give you the other information that you need to know. View the website - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/502503.stm Regards, Mr. Paul George
_________________________________________________________________
Invite your mail contacts to join your friends list with Windows Live Spaces. It's easy!
http://spaces.live.com/spacesapi.aspx?wx_action=create&wx_url=/friends.aspx&mkt=en-us

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam