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:
  • "dear sir/madam" (a standard Nigerian greeting phrase)
  • "million british pounds" (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)
  • ",000,000" (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 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
  
• This email lists mobile phone numbers. Use of such numbers is typical for scams because they allow criminals to conceal their true location. They can receive calls in an Internet cafe from where they send you emails, while pretending to be in some office.
  • +447045784271 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)
• 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.
  • johnormerod02@aol.com

Fraud email example:

From: "John Ormerod" <jormerod45@gala.net>
Reply-To: johnormerod01@aol.com
Date: Wed, 9 Jul 2008 14:12:11 +0100
Subject: Business


Dear Sir/Madam,

I wish to contact you personally for a business transaction of GBP
£30,000,000 (Thirty Million British Pounds Sterling) hopefully that
you will respond positively to this offer. I need a reliable, honest
and capable person who will be able to handle this transaction hence I
am contacting you, and I believe that you will never turn down my
request. I am the Auditor General of the Audit Committee, Halifax
Bank of Scotland, United Kingdom. With your sincere assistant and
co-operation, we can finalise this transaction, and be rest assured
that this deal is worth taking and highly profitable. At this moment,
I will not issue the details of this transaction until your positive
response is granted.

For further correspondence regarding this business proposal, send your
response to johnormerod02@aol.com for more details or ring me on 44 70 45
784271 for further discussion on this. Thanks for your attention.

Kind regards.

john ormerd

Audit Committeea
Bank of Scotland Plc
HBOS Plc
Cell: 44 70 45 784271
Email: johnormerod02@aol.com

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam