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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:
- "my direct telephone number" (a "direct line" in a scam usually means an untraceable mobile phone number used by a scammer in an internet cafe, a redirection service number that forwards to a mobile or a free voicemailbox in a different country.)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: Rev John Morgan <potingmailing77638@virgilio.it>
Reply-To: atm_card_office_2007@yahoo.com
Date: Tue, 18 Aug 2009 11:23:37 +0100 (GMT+01:00)
Subject: GOOD NEWS
This is to notify you that after the meeting
today with The President,
Finance
Minister,
The senators,House of Respresentative and The
Central Bank
Governor
and we came to a conclusion
that we have to pay you the sum of
$10million
The
payment will be telegraphic (ATM CARD) therefore send
the
following (1)
Full Name (2) Home Address
(3) Telephone Numbers.as soon as you
receive this
email on my direct telephone number immediately for more
information.Your
immediate respond is urgently needed.
Best Regards,
Rev John
Morgan
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Anti-fraud resources:
