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joewein.de LLC
fighting spam and scams on the Internet
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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam
The so-called "419" scam is a type of fraud dominated by criminals from Nigeria and other countries in Africa. Victims of the scam are promised a large amount of money, such as a lottery prize, inheritance, money sitting in some bank account, etc.
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.
Keep in mind that scammers DO NOT use their real names when defrauding people.
The criminals either abuse names of real people or companies or invent names or addresses.
Any real people or companies mentioned below have NO CONNECTION to the scammers!
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:
- This email uses a separate reply address that is different from the sender address. Spammers use this to get replies even when the original spam sending accounts have been shut down. Also, sometimes the sender addresses are legitimate looking but fake and only the reply address is actually an email account controlled by the scammers.
- The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "i will like you to " (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)
- "abidjan" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: <helendd07@yahoo.co.jp>
Reply-To: mshelendavies@yahoo.co.jp
Date: Thu, 25 Jun 2009 01:43:09 +0900 (JST)
Subject: contact us.
>From Mrs Helen Davies
Abidjan ivory coast
Dear sir.
My name is Mrs.Helen Davies. I am a widow and a mother with a son. I know you will see my letter to you as an embarrassment considering the fact that we do not know ourselves. I plead with you to be patient with me and give me audience because I found myself in a situation that I dont have any
option than to contact you,so that you can help me in this problem I found myself into, so I feel very pleased to contact you for your assistance and business relationship.
We are from Guinee. my husband Mr Richard Davies was killed by the president Lansana Conteh gunmen after he advised him to step down from power due to political crises in the country,
the evil president who death get out of power in december also gave order to confiscate all my late husband assets including his bank accounts,
since my husbands death life has become miserable to our family, but we are lucky to have the information of his company fixed deposit account of $8.3 million united states dollars outside the country which I and my son john has all the documents and informations covering the deposit . I am
soliciting for your help to provide a bank account where this fund will be transfer and invest into a profited venture such as Real-Estate, Hotel business or farming in your country. you will also help us to get resident visa that will enable us stay in your country with out any problem.
we have decided to compensate you for your effort in getting things done for us which will be discuss after you declare your interest in helping us. you will also serve as guardian of any establishment which will be done with part of this fund in your country. we are now as a refuge in a local
hotel in abidjan I will like you to contact us for more details about this transaction if you are capable of handling it. we are hoping to hear from you urgently
thanks and god bless.
Mrs Helen Davies
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