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:

• An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "dear friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "from the desk of" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "ecowas " (the name of a person or institution often appearing in 419 scams)
  • "cotonou" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
• 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.
  • mrsblessing_mike4@yahoo.co.uk (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: blessing mike <blessingmike4@hotmail.fr>
Date: Thu, 23 Aug 2007 09:32:10 +0100
Subject: Reply back urgently.



From The Desk Of Mrs.B.C.Michael,Head Accounting Department,Ecowas Bank, 14/25 Hospital RouteBenin Republic Cotonou.
Dear Friend.
Please do accept my apologies if my mail does not meet your personal ethics, I want to introduce myself and this business opportunity to you. My name is Rev. Daniel Mike, a bank accountant. I wish to know if we can work together. I would like you to stand as the next of kin to my deceased client who made some deposits to my bank, Ecowas Bank. He died without any registered next of kin and as such the funds now have an open beneficiary mandate.
Fortunately, the bank believes on me, so it will be very easy to make you become his official next of kin. If you are interested you do let me know so that I can give you a Comprehensive details on what we are to do. I urgently hope to get your response as soon as possible. Please reply back at:mrsblessing_mike4@yahoo.co.uk
Please visit this site for confirmation: http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/africa/12/26/benin.crash/index.html
Best regards, Mrs.Blessing.C.Michael


_________________________________________________________________
Connect to the next generation of MSN Messenger 
http://imagine-msn.com/messenger/launch80/default.aspx?locale=en-us&source=wlmailtagline

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam