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)
  • "million united states dollars" (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)
  • ",500,000" (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)
  • "00,000.00" (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)
  • "there are practically no risks involved" (almost true for the criminal - arrests of online criminals are rare)
• This email message is a next of kin scam.

Fraud email example:

From: "James Moore" <mrmooregh70@msn.com>
Reply-To: mrjamesmoore2000@hotmail.com
Date: Sat, 21 Feb 2009 11:45:41 +0000
Subject: URGENT RESPONSE

Dear Friend,

My name is Mr James Moore . I am the Regional Manager of Trust Bank of
Ghana,[ttb] Accra branch Ghana. I write you this proposal in good faith; I
am married with two lovely children. I am a man of peace, and have sincere
respect for human feelings and opinions. I have packaged a financial
transaction that will benefit you and I. As the Regional Manager of Trust
Bank of Ghana [ttb], Accra branch Ghana it is my duty to send in a
financial report to my head office in the capital city, Accra at the end of
each business year.

On the course of last year, 2008 business report, I discovered that the
branch in which I am the Manager made 10.5million United States Dollars
($10,500,000.00) which my head office is not aware of and will never be
aware of. I have placed this funds on what we call Escrow call account with
no beneficiary. As an officer of this bank I cannot be directly connected to
this money, so my aim of contacting you is to assist me receive this money
in your bank account and get 30% of the total funds as commission.

There are practically no risks involved, the transaction will be executed
under a legitimate arrangement that will protect you from any breach
of the law, it will be simply a bank-to-bank transfer, and all I need from
you is to stand claim as the original depositor of these funds who made the
deposit with my branch so that my head office can order the transfer to
your designated bank account under few working days. If you accept to work
with me I will appreciate it very much as you are the first and the only
person I am contacting for this transaction.

Send me an email as soon as you receive this message if you think so that we
can go over the details.

Thank you in advance and God bless you and your family.

Sincerely,
Mr James Moore.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam