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 friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "will come to you as a surprise" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "foreign remittance manager" (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)
  • "waiting for your urgent response" (scammers rush victims so they don't have time to think properly)
  • "urgent assistance" (scammers rush victims so they don't have time to think properly)
  • "confidential business" (scammers urge victims to keep the transaction secret because they don't want anyone to point out to them that it is a scam)
  • "keep it confidential" (scammers urge victims to keep the transaction secret because they don't want anyone to point out to them that it is a scam)
  • "top secret" (scammers urge victims to keep the transaction secret because they don't want anyone to point out to them that it is a scam)
  • "affidavit " (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
  • "high court" (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
• This email message is a next of kin scam.

Fraud email example:

From: "Mr.Kevin Andrews" <mrkevinandrews100@msn.com>
Reply-To: <mrkevinandrews005@yahoo.com>
Date: Thu, 4 Sep 2008 22:44:32 +0000
Subject: Thanks For Your Reply



FROM: MR.KEVIN ANDREWSFOREIGN REMITTANCE MANAGER. NATIONWIDE BANK LONDON425 STRAND. LONDON. WC2R 0JT.

Dear Friend, STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL I know that this mail will come to you as a surprise as we never meet before. I am the FOREIGN REMITTANCE MANAGER of NationWide Bank London, I Hope that you will not expose or betray this trust and confident that I am about to repose on you for the mutual benefit of our both families. I need your urgent assistance in transferring the sum of (12.4M Pounds sterling)Twelve Million Four Hundred Thousand Pounds Starling immediately to your account. The money has been dormant (in-active) for Nine years in our Bank here without any body coming for it. I want to release the money to you as the nearest person to our deceased customer DR.FREDERICK M.WONG of Redwood City, California the owner of the account who died a long time with his supposed next of kin in plane crash since Tuesday, November 2, 1999 . I don't want the money to go into our Bank treasury as an abandoned Fund, so this is the reason why I contacted you, so that my Bank will release the money to you as the nearest person to the deceased customer. For more informations about the crash you can visit this site:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/502503.stm

Please I would like you to keep this proposal as a top secret and delete it if you are not interested, so that i can continue to search for who will be competent enough to be with me until the end of this Transaction. Upon receipt of your reply, I will send you full details on how the business will be executed and also note that you will have 40% of the above mentioned amount if you agree to help me execute this business 55% for me and 5% will be maped out for any expenses both parties might incured during the processing of this transaction. I therefore request that you send me your account details (or urgently open a new account without any money in it provided it can receive money). State the account as below:Bank Name..............Bank Address...........Beneficiary Name...Account Number.........Swift Code.............Your Tel/Fax Number....Routing Number.........State &Country... On receipt of the above information, I will start processing the transfer of this fund into your account. I will send you the letter of Administration, which will serve as an Oral WILL stating you as the legal and the rightful beneficiary of the fund and a Sworn Affidavit of Fact From British High Court. With these document sent to the bank the fund will be approve in your name and transferred to your account. Please note that this is an urgent and confidential business. Always keep it confidential. Thanks and waiting for your urgent response.Best Regards Mr. Kevin Andrews.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam