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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:
- "dear friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "may come to you as a surprise" (a common phrase found 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: usman usman <usmanyusman2002@yahoo.fr>
Reply-To: usmanyusman2010@yahoo.com
Date: Thu, 5 Nov 2009 09:37:05 +0000 (GMT)
Subject: Dear Friend
Dear Friend,
This may come to you as a surprise because it has taken many months that I did not hear from you and then I decided to take a step which may surprise you. I want to let you know that I have successfully been able to move the sum of 200 million Euros out of my country so that the eyes of the government will not be on it since you where unable to support me initially get all the required papers towards this. They fund has now been lodged in a bank out side my country so that it will be easy for you to receive.
I therefore advice you to confirm the receipt of this letter, so that I can furnish you with the complete details of the lodgment. I hope also that you will take advantage of this chance to build a solid business relationship with me as my coming back to you on this indicates my trust in you.
I shall be waiting for your response.
Regards
USMAN Y. USMAN
+234-5855-9199
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Anti-fraud resources:
